KH: Searching for You
by YeeJian
Summary: Requested by Krocken the Hybrid, It's like any Kingdom Hearts Story except it's Kairi rescuing Sora from the dreaded Horned King. If you don't know who is the Horned King, watch Disney's Black Cauldron. Krocken will appear as himself, acting as an adviser to the party. Enjoy! All characters Square-Enix & Disney
1. A New Heroine

Sea gulls were flying with the gentle breeze that made the fluffy, white clouds formed shapes and blowing the surface of the deep-blue water of the sea that surrounds Destiny Island. The leaves of coconut and palm trees moved where the winds dictate them to move. The sandy, golden beach was decorated with seashells, seaweed and walking crustacean who were out looking from their midday meal.

Walking down the beach, hand in hand, was a boy and a girl. The boy has brown, spiky hair and sky-blue eyes while the girl has auburn, long hair and sea-blue eyes. The girl was resting her head on the boy's shoulder as they admired the sun.

'I'm glad that you're here to enjoy the view of the sun with me today, Sora.' The girl said, squeezing Sora's hand tightly.

'Yeah', Sora said. 'I suppose to meet with Riku today but he said he got something urgent to do with King Mickey so I thought of hanging out with you.'

Kairi smiled mischievously. 'So you're saying that if Riku didn't had something urgent to do, you would rather hang around with him than me?'

Sora grinned. 'Nah, I will tell him that I rather hang around with my beautiful girlfriend than with him. No hard feelings of course.'

'Oh Sora, you're so sweet.'

They reached the place where they normally hang around: the slanting Paopu Tree where Sora, Riku and Kairi sit and stare at the sun. Now it was only two of them, watching the fish into the water and the sun sinking down.

Sora moved closer to Kairi. 'I think it's one of those moments.'

Kairi looked up at him. 'You mean kissing?'

Sora smiled at her. 'May I?'

Kairi rolled her eyes. 'Oh god, Sora. We have together like years! Surely you don't need to be acting the gentleman now.'

'Just being a gentleman', Sora said defensively but moved his face closer to Kairi's. Kairi closed her eyes, expecting the soft lips of Sora to touch hers.

One second.

Five seconds.

Nothing. No touch. No wetness from the lips. Puzzled, Kairi opened her eyes and saw Sora looking around, frowning.

'Sora', she asked, worried. 'What's wrong?'

Sora pointed to the sky. Kairi followed Sora's gaze and was shocked. The sky was suddenly darkening and although the breeze was still there, it was becoming stronger and more chilling. The ocean water was churning roughly and trees were on the edge of being blown away by the strong wind. What were worse were dark clouds swirling in a spiral. They were going downwards, nearing the island.

Sora jumped off the tree he was sitting on and his Key-Blade appeared in his hand. Kairi did the same thing. Sora, noticing her, said, 'Kairi, stay behind me.'

Kairi shook her head, gripping her Key-Blade harder. 'No. I'm fighting with you.'

Before Sora could stop her, Heartless suddenly appeared from the shadows and moved slowly towards them. Expertly, Sora brought his Key-Blade down and three Heartless vaporized. Kairi swung her Key-Blade in an arc before a Heartless could jump onto her. Side by side, they fought against the Heartless, bringing them down with their Key-Blades and magic. Finally, all of the Heartless were vanquished and Sora was searching for any Heartless they haven't killed while Kairi continue to stare at the sky. Kairi looked back at Sora who also turned to her direction at the same time. They smiled to each other, glad that both of them were okay.

Kairi was about to run towards him when she suddenly saw a skeletal hand appearing behind Sora from a dark portal.

'Sora! Behind you!'

She was too late. Sora suddenly fell to his knees and his eyes were closed when he fell onto the sandy beach.

'Sora!' Kairi screamed as she run towards him but skidded to a stop when the one who was responsible for Sora's sudden fall stood out of the portal. Kairi was appalled at the being she was looking at.

It was tall and it was shrouded in brown robes with a black cape. Its' hands and face were that of a skeleton with horns sticking out of its' head. Its' eyes were glowing yellow with red pupils: like ember in a furnace.

The being now stooped below and carried Sora in it arms. Then it turned back to the portal.

Kairi, overcoming her fear, ran towards him and shouted, 'STOP!'

The being did not stop but gestured with his free hand. Immediately, three Heartless stood in her way. Angrily, she slew them all and desperately raced to the being and Sora. Before she could reach it however, the dark portal closed behind the being.

'NO!' Kairi screamed as she tried to find an opening into the Realm of Darkness. There was none. In fact, the darkness was already disappearing as there was no more presence of the being that abducted Sora. The gusts of wind returned to gentle breezes and the water calmed down. Destiny Island returned to its' tranquil and soothing state when the darkness was no more.

Kairi, however, did not care about the state of her beloved home. She looked around, desperately hoping that Sora was still here with her. That hope proved to be forlorn. Kairi squatted and buried her face into hands, weeping uncontrollably.

Sora was gone. Gone.

Forcing herself to calm down, she shakily stood up, ignoring her surroundings. Tears continued to flow down from her cheeks as she clenched and unclenched her hands.

Sora did say that Riku had something to do with King Mickey. That means that Riku must be in Disney Castle. With King Mickey. With two of the most powerful Key-Blade wielders, they can help her save Sora!

With determination in her eyes that were filled with tears of sadness, she strode purposely to the place where she and Sora had hidden the Gummi ship. He taught her how to drive so she will be able to make it to Disney Castle. She just hope that Sora was still alive before…

She shook her head angrily. No! She must not think of such thoughts! She looked at the place where she and Sora were about to kiss before the whole disaster happened.

'Sora, please wait a bit longer. I'm coming!'

In his marbled library, Mickey, king of Disney Castle, was studying the reports that were sent to him from other worlds when he heard a knock on the door.

'Come in!'

The great wooden door opened and a young man with long, purple hair and green eyes came into the room. He was wearing purple pants and a sleeveless yellow vest over a black shirt.

'You sent for me, Mickey?' the young man asked.

''Ah, Riku", Mickey greeted, putting down the papers. 'I'm afraid I have some bad news. From my reports, activities of Heartless have been increasing drastically over the past few days.'

Riku was shocked when Mickey just said that. 'But why? Surely with Organization 13 and Maleficent gone, the should be no reasons for the increase rate of Heartless.'

'That maybe true', mickey agreed. 'But don't forget, Maleficent is still active and is still powerful.' Mickey shook his head. 'But this is not Maleficent's doing. The Mastermind of this is more powerful than any enemies we had ever faced.'

Riku just stood there as if he was rooted to the ground, digesting what the king was telling him. 'Then shouldn't we also tell Sora about this?'

Mickey sighed. 'At first, I thought you and me were enough to stop this spread of darkness but after receiving this reports', he gestured at the papers on his desk, ' I think we need all the help we can get. I already sent Donald and Goofy to Yensid to see if he has anything to aid us.'

Riku nodded. 'If that the case, I'll return to Destiny Island and bring Sora with me.'

'That's be great. We…' Mickey stopped talking suddenly. 'What's going on?'

Riku followed Mickey's gaze and was surprise to see dark spores falling from the ceilings. They were descending very fast. Before Riku could do anything, the spores were already on him. Suddenly, he felt heavy and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. His vision was blurring and through his blurred vision, he saw Mickey struggling to stand up before slumping down on the floor: in a coma.

Finally, Riku could take it anymore and fell his eyes close. He didn't feel anything when he fell hard on the marble floor. Mickey and Riku just lay where they fell. Unbeknown to them, the entire castle was also fast asleep from the descending spores.

The castle's hangar's door opened automatically as Kairi steered the Gummi ship into it. Kairi turned off the engine and quickly got out. As she stepped into the hangar, she was uneasy that deadly silence has greeted her. She continued onwards into the Castle garden. As she glanced into the sky, there was no darkness in the sky, and yet there was this ominous feeling in the castle.

Fearing the worse, she ran through the courtyard and straight to the Royal Library where Mickey spent most of his time. She slammed the door open and gasped. Lying in front of her were Riku and King Mickey.

She dropped to her knees as she reached Riku and gave sigh of relief when she felt a pulse. She also checked Mickey and he too also have a pulse. She let out a breath of relief until it was replaced by a new fear. Without Riku or the King to help her, she was hopeless! Now she will never save Sora. She sank to the ground, sobbing her hearts out.

'You know, if you're going to stay there, crying in your self-pity, you're more than hopeless.'

Kairi stopped crying and looked up towards the direction of the voice. She gave a shrill yelp when she saw the owner of the voice. It walked on two long legs with short but sharp claws attached to a large body. It has a long tail that reached to the ground even though it was standing on its' hind legs. It had a head of a lizard but with razor, sharp teeth and small, yellow eyes. It was all blue in color except for five orange stripes on its' back.

It was a dinosaur.

Kairi jumped to her feat and conjured up her Key-Blade. She pointed it to the creature. 'What do you want?' she demanded. 'Who are you?'

The creature just cocked its' eyebrow. 'I wasn't expecting our savior to be a small, frail girl.' It said nastily.

'Just answer my question!' she demanded, ignoring the comment.

'Kairi!'

Kairi turned behind her and was relief when she saw Donald Duck and Goofy running towards her. Donald was hurrying towards her with his short, webby legs and holding his staff while Goofy strode fast with his usual shield. When they got into the library, they stared at the sleeping bodies of the their king and Riku.

'Don't worry', Kairi assured them, knowing their concern. 'They are still alive but sleeping. I believe this creature', she gestured to the blue dinosaur. 'Is responsible for all this.'

The creature looked offended. 'Listen you stupid girl, if I was behind all these, I wouldn't trouble myself showing myself to you. Unless I want to gloat that is.'

'Krocken?' a high pitch voice said. A small cricket wearing a black coat and a blue top hat jumped off Goofy and landed in front of Kairi. It was Jiminy Cricket. 'Krocken, is that you?'

The creature, called Krocken, answered sarcastically, 'No, I'm your fairy godmother. Of course it's me! What other blue dinosaur with orange stripes on its' back is called Krocken?'

'It seems you didn't change since the last time we met', Jiminy said, not the least annoyed at Krocken's. 'I'm glad you're here. Don't mind him', he told Kairi and the other two. 'He can be a bit rude and sarcastic but he is on our side.'

'Too rude if you ask me', Donald quaked.

Krocken ignored Donald and said, 'I just came back from my scouting on other worlds when I felt a presence of darkness over Disney castle. I rushed back as quickly as I could but I was too late. Everybody in this castle is fast asleep.'

'Us too', Goofy confirmed. 'We saw this clouds of darkness over Disney Castle.'

'I was hoping that King Mickey have summoned the Key-Blade master, Sora, here…'

'Sora is gone.' Kairi said shortly.

'WHAT?' Donald and Goofy yelled together. Even Krocken is looking at her in surprise.

'Kairi', Jiminy asked. 'What do you mean?'

Breathing slowly, Kairi narrated what happened to Destiny Island, about the darkness coming in onto them, about how they fought against odd numbers, and finally the abduction of Sora.

'Then that being just took away Sora into the dark portal before I could reach them'; she finished, trying her very best not to shed a single tear. Goofy and Jiminy stared at her, open mouthed while Donald threw a tantrum.

'Why I oughta…' he raged. 'When I get my hands on that guy, I'm going give him the worst thunderstorm and blizzard he ever felt! I…'

Krocken, who was listening patiently, interrupted Donald's rant, 'Can you described this being?'

Kairi turned to Krocken. 'It was a skeleton with horns and wearing a brown robe with a black cape. Its' eyes were yellow with red pupils.'

Krocken nodded slowly. 'Then it was what I have feared: the Horned King had taken out his biggest obstacle.'

Everybody looked at Krocken with a puzzled look. 'The Horned King?' Jiminy asked.

Krocken cocked his head. 'Surely you must have heard of him when you were travelling with Sora.'

'No', Jiminy shook his head. 'So far, we have encountered no enemies that goes by that name.'

'Then you must be lucky not to cross pass the Horned King', Krocken snorted. 'The Horned King is one the most evilest and dangerous foe you have ever face. He is a Lich, an undead creature that rely on magic spells and rituals to keep its' immortality. The Horned King is more vile and cunning than his predecessor. He is ten times worse than Maleficent.'

'Worse than Maleficent?' Kairi said dubiously.

Krocken nodded. 'After the fall of Maleficent, the Horned King must have gathered the remnants of Heartless and had been saving them until the time is perfect. That's why I have been scouting in so many different worlds, to keep track on the Horned King's activities.' He sighed. 'With Sora captured, I'm afraid there is no hope for us.'

'No hope?' Kairi said vehemently. 'Sora maybe captured but I am still here! I'll rescue Sora and stop the Horned King's plans!'

Krocken snorted and said scornfully. 'So says the girl who cried so much that will flood the World. Forget it! I doubt the Horned King will take you seriously.'

'Oh', Kairi now angry. 'So are suggesting that we just stay here and do nothing? At least if I go out there, there maybe a chance to foil this Horned King's plans and save Sora. Besides, Sora have been teaching me how to fight.'

Krocken just study her. Then without warning, sprinted towards her and brought something down on her. Luckily for Kairi, her Key-Blade was with her the whole time and parried the blow. Looking up, she saw it was a katana that was locked with her Key-Blade.

Krocken just turned his short wrist making the katana swing towards Kairi's left side. Kairi blocked again and threw a stab at Krocken's chest. Krocken defended himself with the hilt of his katana before the Key-Blade could cause any damage.

Kairi and Krocken continue to dance with each their blades for some time and yet both sides were showing no signs of backing out. Donald, Goofy and Jiminy watched in amazement at the swordplay being performed in front of them.

After exchanging blows with each other, Kairi and Krocken jumped back away from each other: panting heavily. Slowly and grudgingly, Krocken sheathed back his katana. 'Not bad', he admitted. 'Sora have trained you well.'

'I'm glad that's a praise and not an insult', Kairi said as her Key-Blade disappeared.

'But bear in mind', Krocken continued. 'The Horned King is still a powerful adversary. You will still need to become stronger before you can face him.' He said with a small smile. 'Go. Travel to other worlds and search for clues of the Horned King's stronghold. Your mediocre companions can accompany you.'

Donald Duck looked insulted but Goofy just asked, 'Gosh! What about you?'

'I'll be doing my own scouting and see if I can find out more what the Horned King is up to.' Krocken replied. 'Just don't mess up and expect me to clean up your mess.' He turned his back on them. But before he left he turned his head over his shoulders and just said, 'Good luck.'

Then he left the library. All of them saw the back of him until Jiminy broke the silence, 'First thing first. Before we head out, I think we take everybody sleeping into somewhere safe until they wake up. Then we will first go to Master Yensid to cast a protective charm all over the castle so no Heartless or anybody could attack the castle.'

Donald and Goofy nodded and set out to work: Goofy carrying the king and leaving Donald to drag Riku. Kairi just stood there, staring at an empty space.

'We coming for you, Sora.' She said before she helped the others.


	2. The Horned King's Master

'This should do it', Yensid, the wizard of the Mysterious tower and King Mickey's former mentor, said as he gestured on a magical runes in his studies. 'This spell will protect the castle from any unwelcome guests or intruders.'

Kairi, who was sitting on an armchair, sipping her tea and amusing herself as Donald Duck and Goofy were fighting for the last slice of cake, said doubtfully, 'That simple?'

The wizened wizard nodded his head as he turned back to his guests. Smiling at the fighting Donald and Goofy, he gestured and another slice of cake appeared out of nowhere: to the delight of Donald.

'Rest assured', Yensid continued. 'I will remain here to do whatever power I have to help you in your quest and protect Disney Castle from the Horned King. But I doubt he will be interested in attacking a castle that only contain sleeping residents.'

Kairi nodded, slightly at ease. After making sure that Riku, King Mickey and everybody in Disney Castle were safely put into their own rooms, Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy travelled to the Mysterious Tower to seek advise from Yensid. Krocken has already told Yensid about the recent events.

'The Horned King was one of Maleficent subordinates but left her group when he felt superior among his fellow companions', Yensid told them. 'He is not interested in controlling Heartless of all the worlds, no doubt he do control a significant number of them, he is focusing on unleashing the greatest evil in the entire universe.'

Kairi sat there holding her teacup, quietly waiting for Yensid to continue. Even Donald stopped eating his cake: leaving it vulnerable for Goofy to steal.

'Its' name, is Vagnar.'

A sudden silent struck the room. The very mention of that name struck fear and unease in everybody's souls.

'What is this Vagnar?' Kairi asked, fearing the worse.

Yensid sighed and turned to gaze at the stars through his windows. 'Vagnar was the first Lich to ever walked through the worlds and his evil stench have poisoned many innocents. It was only through one brave Key-Blade master that Vagnar was defeated: although she suffered heavy injuries and perished a day after the fight. Vagnar was sealed into a tomb where it can be unlock only by a specific way. For centuries, Vagnar's darkness have slowly dispersed however,' Yensid turned back to face his listeners. 'Vagnar has passed down his teachings to those foolish enough to sell their souls to him in order to gain immortality.' Yensid made a face of disgust. 'Their desire was to release their dark master from his imprisonment but have suffered defeat by those who wielded the light and have fallen to their demise. The Horned King however is a different matter than the rest. He waited until Sora was off-guard and then made his move.'

Kairi, trying not to wince at Sora's name, asked, 'Do you know why the Horned King captured Sora?'

Yensid looked into Kairi's eyes, noticing her fear for her beloved. 'Fear not, whatever reasons for the Horned King to abduct Sora is not to kill him. Sora plays a more important role for the revival of Vagnar.' Yensid slowly sat on his magnificent chair and announced, 'in order for the tomb to be opened, there are two keys needed: the heart of a Key-Blade master and the seven Crystals of Hearts.'

'The seven Crystals of Hearts?' Donald asked, spearing a strawberry with a fork.

'A former Key-Blade master saw fit to lock some presence of the Seven Princesses of Hearts into seven crystals in case something were to happen to the human counterparts.'

'Do I have one of this crystals?' Kairi asked.

Yensid nodded. 'However, in order to locate every crystal, you must follow a particular order.'

'Gosh', Goofy said, puzzled. 'What do you mean?'

Jiminy Cricket, who was listening the whole time, interjected, 'What he meant is the order of the Princess: Alice, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, Cinderella, Aurora and Kairi.'

'So if we find Alice's crystal first, we can locate the others?' Kairi directed that question to Yensid.

'That is correct', Yensid confirmed. 'But be warned young Key-Blade wielder. You're not the only one after the crystals and the Horned King is not to be underestimated.'

Kairi nodded and stood up from her chair. 'Thank you Master Yensid. We will be going now.'

Yensid gently smiled at her. 'Good luck.'

'So Kairi', Donald began as they climbed into the Gummi Ship. 'What's the plan?'

Kairi squirmed slightly. She had never taken command before, except when it comes with Sora. Shaking her head to remind herself she is in charge now, she answered, 'First we'll head for Wonderland and find Alice's crystal before the Horned King get his hands on it.'

'Gosh', Goofy said as he closed the door behind him. 'How're we going to find it if we don't even know what it look like?'

Kairi was already thinking of it. 'If anybody should know the location of the crystal, it should be Alice herself.'

'What happens if Alice doesn't know about the crystals herself?' Jiminy asked.

Kairi looked at all her friends in the eye. 'Then we will have to find it ourselves.'

'Here we are', Donald announced as the Gummi ship cruised near a world. 'Wonderland.'

Kairi looked down from her window and saw a world so bizarre in her life. Flowers the sizes of towers, forests that resembled jungles, queer animals and humongous mazes. Sora did tell her about different worlds but Kairi thought he was exaggerating. It seems he told her the truth.

Goofy had the Gummi ship landed gently onto the ground. Everybody got off and Kairi scanned around. It would have any normal world with its' blue sky and familiar surroundings except for the giant size vegetation and strange animals.

'Wonderland hasn't changed one bit since the last time we were looking for you', Goofy commented.

Kairi nodded, remembering the time Sora had spent searching for her and then saving her in Hollow Bastion. Now it's the other way round. Knowing that Donald and Goofy were following behind her, she led the way to a house. As she opened the door, she and her two friends stepped inside a pink and red room with a table, a few cupboards, two chairs and a fireplace.

As Kairi walked into the middle of the room, she noticed two things. One was a door in the other side of the room but so small that only a mouse could go through. The other was the door knob resembled a face of a sleeping person.

Kairi stared at it, wondering how to go through such a tiny door.

'Staring will get you nowhere. Search for the answer.'

Kairi jumped when she heard the mysterious voice. Donald and Goofy who had been to this world before just looked around.

'Look', Goofy pointed at one of the corner of the room. 'It's the Cheshire Cat!'

Before Kairi's astonished eyes, a purple cat wearing a big grin appeared in front of them on the table.

'Welcome your highness', he addressed Kairi as one of the seven Princesses of Hearts. 'My cold and sarcastic friend mentioned that you will be arriving here sooner of later.'

'Krocken?' Donald asked.

The Cheshire cat nodded lazily and continued, 'If you wish to overcome your first obstacle, drink the bottle.'

Kairi just noticed a small green bottle in front of the Cheshire cat with the label: Drink me. Kairi looks questionably at the bottle then at the cat. She felt a nudge on her leg and looked down at Donald.

'You can trust him. He helped us a lot of time.'

No longer fill with doubt, Kairi opened the bottle and sipped its' content. She barely had time to pass it to Donald before she shrank down to the floor. She was now the size of an ant. Donald and Goofy shortly joined her as they partake the content from the bottle. Together, they walked towards the snoring doorknob.

Kairi coughed gently. 'Excuse me?'

The doorknob, hearing Kairi prompting, yawned and opened its sleepy eyes. 'What is it? Don't you know it's considered rude to wake somebody during his nap?'

'I'm so sorry'. Kairi apologized sincerely. 'But we awfully need to go inside… you.'

The doorknob grumbled a bit before replying, 'Normally I would deny anyone entry but since you're a lady, I can't refuse. Just remember to come only in the afternoon.'

With that, he swung opened for Kairi and her two companions to walk through. As they pressed on, they found themselves in a forest where everything was supposed to be small when they were in their actual sizes. Flowers the size of lamp posts, trees as big as skyscrapers, grass as tall as fence and so on.

Now recognizing the Cheshire cat's voice, Kairi heard, 'your equal is on the other side of the forest. I best be going if I were you.'

Kairi nodded her thanks and with a wink, the cat disappeared. Kairi, Donald and Goofy walked through the giant forest when they reached a clearing. In the clearing, there was a table covered in a white cloth and holding various tea sets.

Sitting on that table was a small, old man wearing a green top hat, a brown-colored hare, a sleeping dormouse and a girl with long, blonde hair. As Kairi approached the table, the blonde girl quickly stood up and ran towards them as soon as she saw Kairi.

'Kairi!' she cried as she hugged her. 'It had been so long!'

'You too Alice', Kairi replied back, also embracing her equal as the Princess of Heart. 'How are you?'

'Is that Red Queen still giving you troubles?' Donald asked sourly, having bad memories with the Queen of Hearts.

'No, no, no!' Alice answered as she released herself from Kairi's embrace. 'She leave me alone most of the time except when she wants to play croquets and hold executions.'

The Mad Hatter, the fellow wearing the green top hat, waved his teacup at them. 'Who want some tea?'

'Me!' Donald and Goofy cried as they raced to the table. Kairi just shook her head while Alice giggled. 'So what brings you here?' Alice asked as Donald gulped down all the cakes he could reach. 'And where is Sora?'

With her smile fading away, Kairi told Alice what had happened to Sora and about her quest. When she was done, Alice was deep in thoughts. 'I hope Sora is all right. But knowing him, he should be able to take care of himself.'

'Yeah', Alice agreed. 'As for these crystals you mentioned, I don't know anything about them since I have never heard or seen any crystals.'

Kairi's shoulder's slumped. 'Not even a hunch?'

Alice just shook her head.

'In order to find the crystals, two requirements must be fulfilled.'

Kairi and Alice spun around to face the grinning face of the Cheshire cat.

Alice just smiled. 'Hello Cheshire cat.'

The Cheshire cat nodded his head in acknowledgement. Kairi asked, 'What do you mean about requirements?'

'To find a rock you need to look beneath the rock', the Cheshire replied mysteriously and mischievously. 'To find that rock you need to search further into the rock.'

'But that doesn't even make any sense!' Kairi protested.

'One must further dwell on the true meaning of words before reaching to conclusions.' With a smirk, the Cheshire cat disappeared. Kairi turned to Alice.

'Did you understand a single word he said?'

Alice just shook her fair head. 'I gave up trying to understand that cat and his riddles long time ago.'

Before Kairi or Alice could do anything, a troop of red cards wielding axes approached them. The captain of the cards pointed his axe to those who were at the table and announced, 'Mad Hatter, Hare and Dormouse. You're all under arrest on the Queen's orders! Cards, seized those two as well!' He gestured to Donald and Goofy.

The cards roughly apprehend those who were announced, including Donald and Goofy.

'Hey!' Donald cried, spitting out cake crumbs. 'Let me go! Let me go!'

'I didn't do anything wrong!' Goofy pleaded. 'All I did was overeat!'

Kairi and Alice ran towards the Captain of the Card. 'What are you doing?' Kairi said. 'Those two didn't do anything wrong!'

The Card captain just said over his shoulders. 'They are found guilty and will be brought to justice by her majesty, the Red Queen.'

'But this isn't fair!' Kairi fumed.

The captain just shrugged. 'Tell that to the queen.'

Kairi was about to come to her friend's aid but before she could use her key-blade, Alice stopped her. 'We better do as they says. We might be able to release them during court session.'

Although Kairi wanted to use force, Kairi had no choice but to agree. So Kairi and Alice followed the party through the Queen's maze and into an open area with a high seat and a golden cage in the middle. At both side of the area were seats for the jury. Seating on the high seat was a fat lady dressed in red and wearing a crown. Besides her was a white rabbit wearing glasses and had a worried expression on his face.

The Captain of the Cards led the party into the courtyard and the Hatter, the Hare, the Dormouse, Donald and Goofy stood in front of the Queen. The White Rabbit blew a trumpet and the Queen announced, 'Let the court proceed!'

The Captain of the Cards stepped forward and said boomingly, 'O Queen of Hearts, I have arrested the ones you asked for.'

The Queen nodded and dismissed the captain with a gesture. Then she turned to the White Rabbit. 'Read the verdict!'

The White Rabbit rolled opened a scroll and announced. 'The Mad Hatter, the Brown Hare and the Sleeping Dormouse are found guilty for stealing the Queen's tarts!'

Kairi, trying to absorb what she was hearing, turned to Alice dubiously. 'You're kidding me? They are arrested for tarts?'

Alice shrugged. 'The Queen takes pastries theft seriously.'

'Yes', the Queen nodded grimly. 'My precious tarts! My baker have took half a day to bake those tarts for me and you have the nerves to steal them?'

'I didn't know they were stolen!' the Brown Hare cried. 'I plead not guilty!'

'I was sleeping the whole time and never have time for tarts', the Dormouse said sleepily.

The Mad Hatter twisted his hat nervously. 'I'm innocent! I found them lying somewhere in the garden! I have no idea they were yours O Queen!'

'Note each word they are spouting out! We can use them against them in the future!' the Queen ordered as the White Rabbit hastily took out his notepad. The Queen noticed Donald and Goofy. 'And why are they here?'

'They are guilty for eating the Queen's tarts!'

'Is that so? And how many did you eat?'

Donald was trembling. 'We had none your majesty.'

'Except for one. 'Goofy said honestly.

'Goofy!' Donald exploded. 'Don't dig our own graves!'

'SILENCE!' the Queen roared, glaring at the two of them. 'So one of you have admitted to your crime! Now I have all the proof I need to execute every single one of you tarts thieves! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!'

'My Queen! Wait!'

Everybody in court stared at Alice and Kairi as they stood forward. 'Your majesty, may I plead for the accused?'

'Proceed!'

Your majesty, you simply cannot execute them for eating your tarts. For one thing, they didn't know it was yours and secondly, the Mad Hatter also ate some. I saw him myself.' Alice said.

The Hatter looked ashamed but the Queen just said, 'Eating and stealing the Queen's tarts are both offensive! Off with their heads!'

'Your majesty!' Kairi now shouted. 'Please wait!'

The Queen of Hearts stared at Kairi. 'And who are you?'

"My name is Kairi your majesty. I have a proposal for you.'

The Queen just looked at her but nodded for Kairi to go on.

'What if we bake you new tarts, tarts that are much more tastier than the ones that were stolen, will you let my friends go?' Kairi asked.

Before the Queen could say anything, Alice quickly interjected, 'According to the laws you have set up your majesty, the defendants can be bailed out by another party.'

The White Rabbit coughed nervously, 'What she said is true your majesty.'

The Queen grumbled before replying, 'Alice, if you were not so fond of croquets, I would have ignored you and continue on with the executions. Very well! Bake your tarts and I will see if they are worthy to eat but be warned! If I don't get any tarts by sun down, you will be headless along with your friends.'

'Don't worry guys.' Kairi assured Donald and Goofy. 'I will have you out of there! I promise!'

When court was closed, the accused were locked up in a golden cage that was in the middle of the court. Kairi can do nothing but to watched her friends being raised high above the ground so nobody could rescue them. Four red cards stood guard at the bottom of the cage to make it impossible for escape or rescue.

'Don't worry about us Kairi!' Donald said. 'Just hurry up and bake those tarts!'

'All this talk of food is making me hungry.' Goofy said.

Kairi nodded and walked quickly along side with Alice.

'That idea of baking tarts for the queen was brilliant.' Alice smiled at Kairi.

Kairi sighed. 'First we need a kitchen and a lot of ingredients.'

'The Duchess will have to do then.' Alice said. 'Her kitchen is ridiculous huge and she has a lot of stuff we can use to bake.'

'Will she let us use it?'

'Me and the Duchess get along quiet well.' Alice answered. 'In fact, she has been inviting for dinners now and then.' Alice grinned as she rubbed her stomach. 'I don't think I can stomach her shrimp bisques again.'

Kairi laughed despite her sticky situation and together with Alice, walked towards the Duchess' manor.


	3. Saved by Pastries

'It is all yours darlings', a plump lady said to Alice and Kairi. 'My kitchen and recipes are all at your disposals.'

'Thank you, Duchess.' Alice said politely. 'We will repay you back for your generosity.'

The Duchess waved her hand dismissively. 'That's all right dearie. I know how hard it is to please the queen these days. Turning into a grump. Won't you stay for dinner?'

'Thank you for inviting us but I'm afraid we must be on our way to the court', Alice said with a straight face. 'Maybe another time.'

'Perhaps', the Duchess sighed. 'It's a pity but I am serving mock turtle soup today.' With another sigh, the Duchess slipped out of the kitchen.

Kairi raised an eyebrow at Alice. 'It seems your friend likes trying out unique cuisines.'

'Like is too mild a word, Kairi.' Alice sighed. 'I hope she didn't turn my friend the mock turtle into soup.'

Kairi looked around the kitchen. 'When you said her kitchen was big, you didn't mean that big. Why does she need it if she is the only person using it?'

'She is always trying bizarre recipes'.' Alice answered. 'Like the other day, she made groundhog pie.'

Kairi crinkled her nose. 'I think we better start baking before I lose my will to cook. Pass that bag of flour please.'

After leaving the Queen of Heart's court, the girls walked through the giant forest until they found the house of the Duchess. The Duchess willingly allowed them to use her kitchen. Now the girls were mixing ingredients into one big bowl.

'Right, some butter and four tablespoons of sugar', Kairi listed as she added ingredients into the mixture. 'Two eggs and a dash of cinnamon.'

'I'm impressed Kairi', Alice said. 'I didn't know you knew how to bake.'

'I make even more effort to learn whatever skills I could from grandma', Kairi replied. 'I did all this so I could impressed S…'

Kairi suddenly stopped as she thought of Sora in danger. A tear slid down her cheek and was about to enter the mixture if Alice hadn't spotted it and place a bowl to catch the teardrop.

'Please don't. You will make the tarts salty.'

Kairi wiped away the rest of her tears. 'I'm sorry. 'But I can't help thinking that while I'm here, Sora is suffering in his captivity.'

Alice patted Kairi on the hand. 'There, there. You know full well that you can't find Sora if you can't find those crystals you spoke of. Once you find those crystals, you're one step closer in finding Sora.'

Kairi smiled gratefully. 'Thanks Alice, I don't know what I will do without you.'

'Then let starts with those tarts.'

Together, they shaped the mixture into tarts on a baking tray and put them in the oven. After twenty minutes or so, the girls could smell a rich aroma coming from the oven and it was time to take out the pastries. Opening the oven, the tarts were nicely brown in a shape of crowns and filled with cranberry jam.

'I think her Highness will enjoy this very much', Kairi said.

'She surely will.' Alice agreed.

Tidying the Duchess' kitchen as quickly as they can, the girls locked the back door to the kitchen and walked onto the path that led to the maze. When Kairi looked up, she was dismayed at how low the sun was.

'Oh no! It's almost sun down! If we don't make it in time, Donald and Goofy will be executed!'

Alice also shared Kairi's distress. 'The way back is too long for us. We only have one hour before sundown but I doubt we can make it.'

Kairi slumped onto a nearby rock. 'First I failed Sora. Now I failed my friends.' She said bitterly.

Alice put her hands on Kairi's shoulders. 'Don't be so hard on yourself. It's not your fault.'

Kairi just shook her head sadly.

'Ahoy there!'

Both girls looked up and saw something approaching them in the river. It has a head of a cow but the body of a green turtle.

'It's my friend! The mock turtle!' Alice cried as she ran to meet him. 'I'm glad that the Duchess didn't catch you for her soup.'

The mock turtle snorted. 'She has to be ten times smarter to catch me. What's wrong? What with the sad faces?'

Alice explained about what had happened. When she was finished, the mock turtle suggested something that made both the girls' spirit rose. 'Maybe I can bring you to the Queen's court. The river goes down to where the maze are.'

'Can you do it?' Kairi asked, jumping to her feet.

'Of course.' The mock turtle confirmed. 'I may be half-turtle but I'm not slow. Climb aboard.'

The two girls gently climbed onto the mock turtle's shell and they were soon sailing down the river. They passed through the thick forest and many other habitats that live close to the river. The currents were fast and they are leaving the forest area and could see the Queen's maze in the horizon.

'We're nearly there!' Kairi cried.

'We're going to make it!' Alice said.

Then out of the blues, the mock turtle suddenly stopped as they were almost near the maze.

'What's wrong?' Alice asked.

'We got company.' The mock turtle said grimly.

Before their very eyes, Heartless that resembles seahorses and fish appeared before the group: ready to attack them. Kairi, Alice and the Mock Turtle were surrounded.

'Damn it!' Kairi cursed as she drew her Key-blade out. 'Get out of the way!'

Alice looked worriedly towards the descending sun. 'Oh dear! I'm afraid if we don't get passed them, we won't be able to save our friends!'

'Then I will cut us a path!' Kairi shouted as she slashed at a charging Heartless and brought her Key-Blade down onto another. However, no matter how many Heartless she slain, there were many more to replace those who were slain.

'This isn't working', the Mock Turtle muttered.

'Kairi', Alice urgently said. 'If you can cut me a path to the land, I can quickly run through the maze and into the Queen's court!'

Kairi nodded and pointed to the group of Heartless who were on the riverbank. 'Firaga!'

The group of Heartless burst into flames. Kairi next pointed her Key-blade to Alice and using the power of wind, levitated her at the entrance of the maze.

'Quickly save the others!' Kairi shouted as she parried a blow delivered by an attacking Heartless.

'Stay safe!' Alice shouted back before disappearing into the maze.

Kairi fought with all her might on the Mock Turtle's shell as swarms of Heartless charged towards her. Swinging her Key-blade and casting spells, all the Heartless were finally gone. The Mock Turtle finally reached the riverbank and Kairi got off from its' shell.

'Thanks for the ride', Kairi said gratefully.

'Oh', the Mock Turtle moaned. 'There will be dents on my shell after all that fighting. But at least it's better than swimming in the Duchess' stew.'

Waving his slippery fins, the Mock Turtle dived back into the water. Kairi hurriedly ran through the maze until she reached the center of the maze. Panting, she looked up and saw the cages were empty. Worried, she looked around for her friends but saw no one. She began to fear the worst.

'Why… these are magnificent!'

Kairi turned around and saw the Queen munching on the tarts that she and Alice made. 'These tarts are even more tastier than my baker's! How did you make them so tasty?'

Alice shrugged modestly. 'Just some spices we added your majesty.'

The queen nodded and waved her hand. 'Very well, the prisoners are pardoned. They are free to go.'

Donald, Goofy, the Mad Hatter, the Brown Hare and the Sleeping Dormouse were release by the guards. Kairi ran towards them and embraced Donald and Goofy.

'I'm glad you're okay!' Kairi sobbed.

'I thought we were goners!' Donald said.

'You don't happen to have anymore of those tarts, do ya?' Goofy asked hungrily.

Kairi chuckled as she rubbed a tear away from her eyes.

'Let all celebrate with some tea!' the Mad Hatter announced as the Brown Hare and the Sleeping Dormouse cheered behind him. Alice shook her head and nudged Kairi.

'Come on, let's go somewhere else.'

Alice led Kairi, Donald and Goofy out of the maze and into a field. The sky was blue, displaying many shapes and sizes of the white clouds. Birds sang the loveliest tunes and the wind softly accompanied their melodies. The field is lust with healthy, green grass and other features of nature. In the very center of the field stood a tree; majestic and older than anything on the field.

Alice gasped, 'Why, that's the tree where I fell into Wonderland!'

As the group came closer, the tree suddenly shone with such radiance that Alice, Kairi, Donald and Goofy had to shield their eyes. When the light dimmed a bit, Alice and Kairi uncovered their eyes and saw something floating. It was a small figure of a flamingo with the color of the darkest indigo and clothed in light.

The group stared in wonder on what transpired before them.

'Is that…?' Kairi asked.

'Alice's Crystal of Heart.' A sarcastic voice confirmed. 'If it's not a floating rutabaga, then what else can it be?'

Kairi turned towards the dinosaur. 'Krocken.'

Krocken arched an eyebrow. 'I never thought you would be glad to see me.'

'Well', Kairi answered back. 'I'm not glad to see that sharp tongue of yours.'

'Fair enough.'

'You're the one who told the Cheshire cat about us.' Donald piped.

'Ten points for Mr. Obvious here.' Krocken said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Donald fumed as Krocken approached them. Alice shrank back. Kairi put a comforting hand onto her shoulder.

'It's okay, he is a friend of us.' Then Kairi grinned.' Except his mouth.'

Krocken ignored that last remark and wrapped his claws around the crystal.

'By right, the Crystals of Hearts should be left in its' original world hidden but under the current situation, we can't risk the Horned King finding it.'

Krocken murmured an incantation under his breath and a safe appeared next to him. It was no ordinary safe. It was made out of marbles and there were ancient runes carved into all sides. The design of the keyhole is completely unique and complicated.

'Gosh', Goofy commented. 'That's one strange looking safe you got there.'

'This is the Safe of Many.' Krocken explained. 'It contained many secrets and ancient treasures from the very beginning of the Key-blades. The skilled wizards and sorceress who resided in the Forgotten World made it and it is I who held full responsibility in safeguarding the safe. It is where I will store the Crystals of Hearts until this crisis is over.'

Krocken turned to Kairi. 'This safe, however, can only be open and locked by a key-blade. If you may.'

Kairi nodded and pointed her Key-Blade. Her Key-Blade illuminated and the door of the safe opened. Krocken gently placed Alice's Crystal of Heart into the Safe. After he closed the safe, Kairi locked it with her Key-Blade. Satisfied, Krocken murmured another incantation and the Safe of Many disappeared.

'I will come back after you find the next Crystal of Hearts. Go to another world to find more clues on the whereabouts of the Horned King if you can.' Krocken walked to the opposite direction but stopped and said over his shoulders, 'Well done, in acquiring your first crystal. Although even a toddler could have done a better job.'

Kairi wrapped her arms in slight annoyance as Krocken disappeared. Jiminy Cricket popped out and shook his head.

'That dinosaur always has to have the last word.'

Kairi nodded and hugged Alice. 'I guess this is goodbye for now.'

Alice embraced her. 'Please come by and visit me again. Maybe we can bake something together again.'

Kairi laughed and let go of her friend. She followed Donald and Goofy back to the Gummi ship, waving goodbye to Alice as she walked away. On the tree, the Cheshire cat appeared and flashed his grin at Kairi.

'Fare thee well young heroine. Save your Prince Charming from the peril he is facing before all is for naught.'


	4. A Gem for a Gem

'So', Kairi said as the Gummi Ship smoothly sailed through the space. 'When is our next destination?'

Donald Duck frowned as he checked the ship's map. 'Beats me, for all I know, we could be near to a world or it will be another hour or so of flying.'

Kairi sighed. She and her two companions have been flying for some time after their stop at Wonderland. The only thing they had encountered was asteroids and glittering stars. If circumstances were not so grim, she might have enjoyed the sights.

'Don't look so down Kairi', Goofy said, popping his head out of the kitchen. 'Why not help me with lunch? Maybe some food in your belly will make you feel better. A-hyuk!'

Kairi smiled gratefully. 'Thanks Goofy.'

'And while you're at it', Donald said as he continued to scan the ship's readings. 'Could you make me a chocolate milkshake?'

Kairi laughed. 'Sure!'

Kairi followed Goofy into the kitchen where Goofy was trying to make sandwiches. Kairi grabbed a kitchen knife and started slicing the cucumbers. As she cut the cucumbers into thin slices, she idly recalled that sometimes she and Sora would make meals together. How she missed his laughter, his smiles, his jokes… and his lack of cooking skills.

Kairi giggled when she remembered Sora putting salt in a cake mix instead of sugar. It was a good thing that he ate it first before she could take the first bite: the sour expression on Sora was unforgettable. Just remembering that incident made her feel better.

Her idle wool-gathering was suddenly interrupted when some chocolate ice cream splashed on the cucumbers. It looks like Goofy's attempt of making chocolate milkshake ended up with a fiasco as ice cream and milk flew over the kitchen.

'Kairi!' he howled. 'Help!'

Kairi quickly got to Goody and unplugged the plug of the shaker. Goofy was covered with milkshake. He licked his lips.

'Yummy!' he said delightfully. 'Thanks Kairi.'

'No problem.' She smiled.

'Hey guys,' Donald cried from the deck. 'I think we found our next destination!'

Kairi and Goofy hurried to the deck. As they approached, Donald eyed the chocolate-covered Goofy.

'Is that my milkshake?'

'Yup!' Goofy said. 'Taste delicious too!'

'Do you know what world is it?' Kairi asked.

Donald frowned as he looked at the screen. 'No idea, I have never seen this world before.'

'But what if it another world that contains the crystal?' Goofy interjected, wiping the chocolate off him. 'Maybe it's a home of another Princess of Hearts.'

'But how do we know?' Donald argued back.

'Nevertheless,' Kairi intervened. 'It might be worth the trip. Even if they are no Princesses of Hearts, there maybe clues of the Horned King whereabouts.'

Donald and Goofy nodded their agreement and directed the Gummi ship to the unknown world.

'Wow!' Kairi gasped as she stepped out of the Gummi Ship. 'I have never seen such a beautiful castle as this!'

'If you say so,' Donald inputted as he stepped next to Kairi. 'Frankly, Disney Castle is much more better looking than this.'

Donald gently landed the Gummi Ship in front of a majestic castle made of white stones and towers reaching the clouds. Banners of lions proudly soared in the wind on the castle's ramparts and small flags fly on top of each towers. A moat of great depth and width surrounded the castle with only a drawbridge for an entrance. Standing at the castle's gate were two figures; a man dressed in royalty talking and laughing together with a woman with ebony, black hair and skin as white as snow.

'Snow White!' Kairi cried as she ran to the couple. The couple looked up from their conversations to see a young girl running to them. The woman smiled in recognition and ran to greet Kairi.

'Kairi', Snow White greeted warmly as she and Kairi embraced. 'It had been too long! How have you been?' After answering each other questions, Snow White gestured to the man who was standing next to her. 'Kairi, I like you to meet my Prince. He rescued me from my evil stepmother's spell.'

The prince took Kairi's hand and gave it peck. Kairi giggled. 'It very nice to meet you your highness.'

'And I too', he reply back. 'Snow told me all about you and the other Princesses of Hearts.'

'That's nice', Kairi smiled before turning back to Snow White. 'I'm glad you settle in with somebody nice.'

Snow White giggled. 'It sure is. So what brings you here?'

Kairi explained about Sora and her quest. While she explained, Snow White clasped her mouth in shock while the Prince looked grim.

'Poor Sora!' Snow White exclaimed when Kairi finished her story. 'I hope he is all right!'

'Is there anything we can do to help?' the Prince asked. 'I owned a debt to Sora for saving Snow White from Hollow Bastion.'

'I need to find Snow's Crystal of Heart', Kairi answered. 'It's the only way to stop the Horned King. 'Snow, can you remember which place hold dear to you?'

Snow White frowned thoughtfully. 'Well… that will be in my old castle: it was my home and where I first met the Prince.'

'But that's where the witch reside', the Prince interjected. 'I know how important this mission is to you Kairi but the witch want Snow dead! I can't take the risk!'

Kairi nodded her understanding. 'Then besides the castle, there must be somewhere else that hold a place in Snow's heart…'

'My lord!'

A soldier approached them, panting heavily.

'What's wrong?' the Prince asked.

'My liege,' the soldier wheezed. 'An army of creatures is approaching the castle from the East! Our men are no match for the creatures!'

'What does these creatures look like?' Kairi demanded.

The soldier blinked his eyes at the young girl giving him orders. He turned to the Prince who nodded. 'They are… dark with yellow, glowing eyes and small horns. They seems to have a symbol of heart on their body.'

'Heartless,' Kairi confirmed. 'You better get everybody inside of the castle and defend the walls at all cause.'

'Yes ma'am!' The soldier saluted before running off.

'Leave the Heartless to me', Kairi told Snow White and the Prince. 'You two better get to safety.'

'Thank you,' the Prince said as he grabbed Snow White's hand. 'Once I get Snow to somewhere safe, I will join you.'

'Be careful!' Snow White cried before running off with the Prince.

'Come on you guys!' Kairi cried to Donald and Goofy.

'Right behind you!' Donald cried.

'Wait for me!' Goofy cried back.

Kairi, Donald and Goofy headed to the East of the castle where a small army of Heartless greeted them. Besides the regular Shadows, there were Soldiers and Armoured Knights; leading them was an Assault Rider.

'This should be easy,' Kairi said as Destiny's Embrace appeared in her hands. Donald and Goofy also pulled out their weapons. 'Donald, freeze their leader! Buy us some time while we deal with the small fries! Goofy, you take the left!'

'Got it!' Donald said as he cast Blizzagga on the Assault Rider, freezing its' legs. Goofy threw his shield at the left flank, knocking off all Heartless that were in the way while Kairi cut through the right flank. Half of the Heartless force was almost wiped out until the Assault Rider broke free and charged towards Kairi. After dispatching a Soldier, Kairi raised Destiny's Embrace and blocked the Assault Rider's downward stroke. Donald cast Firaga on the Assault Rider's rear, distracting it and giving Kairi a chance to thrust her key-blade into its' chest. The Assault Rider gave a scream before fading away. With their leader gone, the other Heartless retreated.

'We did it!' Donald cried triumphantly.

Hearing footsteps, the group turned around to see the Prince leading a few men to them. The Prince and looked around, seeing no Heartless.

'I see that Snow wasn't exaggerating at all,' the Prince smiled at Kairi. 'A woman can fight.'

Kairi smiled back. 'We don't need men to protect us all the time.'

'True.' The Prince agreed when another soldier approached them.

'Another group of those creatures are heading to the East!' the soldier reported.

The Prince turned a face of concern to Kairi. 'That's where the seven dwarfs' mine is. We must go to their aid before they're overrun by those fiends.'

'Leave it to us.' Kairi assured the Prince. 'We will go to their rescue.'

The Prince shoulders relaxed. 'Thank you.'

'Come on lads!' a short man with a short beard and a very large nose cried as he swung a pickaxe at a Heartless. 'We're not letting some beasties getting our treasures!'

The mines was filled with cries and clashes of steels as the seven dwarfs fought hard against the Heartless. Swinging their wooden clubs and pickaxes, they felled down as many Heartless as possible. However, no matter how many Heartless they eliminated, there were still more to take it place. Soon, the seven dwarfs found themselves on the back of the jewelled wall, completely surrounded by Heartless.

'Well lad,' a fat dwarf wearing glasses said to his fellow dwarfs. 'Looks like this is the line of the end… I mean! The end of the line!'

Before the Heartless could attack, lightning bolts struck them all: dissipating them. As the cloud of darkness faded, the dwarves saw three figures at the entrance of the mine. One of them was a young girl while the other two was a duck and a dog.

The dwarves smiled gratefully as their saviours came forward. 'Thanks for the help, lassie. We would have been a goner if you hadn't come at the nick of time.'

'It was nothing,' Kairi replied. 'We were fighting a horde of those Heartless when we spotted them heading to your direction.'

'Heartless you say?' one of them spoke. Kairi nodded. 'And you said you came from the castle?' Another nod. 'Then you must a friend to Snow White!'

'We sure are!' Goofy said. 'And we made sure them Heartless were kept away from the castle.'

'Then you have our thanks.' A dwarf wearing glasses spoke, appearing as the leader. 'Let me introduce ourselves: I'm Doc. Over here is Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, Sleepy and Dopey.'

The other dwarves waved as Kairi introduced herself and her two friends.

'A-hyuk,' Goofy whispered to Donald. 'They all have such funny names.'

'Shhh!' Donald shushed him.

'Snow White will be thrilled that nothing happened to you guys.' Kairi said.

'She has nothing to worry about us,' Grumpy said, puffing his chest. 'She knows full well that we can…'

He was suddenly interrupted when Dopey ran into him and the others, forming a pile. It took the dwarves some time to untangle themselves. Grumpy glared at Dopey.

'What in the name of all that is Holy were you trying to do?'

In answer, Dopey keeps gesturing and pointing to another direction, mutely beckoning the others to follow him.

'What is he trying to say?' Kairi asked.

'He wants us to go check out the store room.' Doc answered as he scrambled with the other dwarves as they followed Dopey: Kairi, Donald and Goofy followed. The group stopped at an opened door leading to an empty storeroom. The dwarves looked at each other in disbelief.

'I don't believe it!' Happy gasped. 'All our hard work, gone!'

'What was in that storeroom?' Goody asked.

'All our gems we dug out from the mines.' Bashful answered.

'Did you said, gems?' Donald asked greedily.

'Yes,' Doc replied, polishing his glasses. 'Rubies, diamonds, emeralds, ambers, sapphires, gold nuggets…'

As Doc continued listing the gems, Donald's eyes widened.

'Those thieving fiends!' Grumpy cursed. 'Stealing our treasure behind our backs!'

'But why does the Heartless wants gems?' Kairi asked Jiminy Cricket who was sitting on her shoulders. 'I never thought they be interested in rare stones.'

Jiminy frowned. 'That is a phenomenon I can't explain.'

'So what?' Donald burst. 'We got to get those gems back!'

'Donald,' Goofy looked at his friend. 'You're by any chance saying that for your own personal gain are you?'

'Of course not!' Donald quickly denied. 'All I'm saying that we should return the gems back to the dwarves!'

'If they were that many gems,' Doc said. 'Then the thieves would not have gone far.'

'Let's get 'em!' Grumpy cried as he charged outside, soon followed by the others.

'By the Mountain King!' Grumpy muttered as he scanned outside the mine. 'Where did those varmints go?'

Bashful scanned further into the woods and suddenly shouted, 'Look! There something shining in those tress!'

The others looked at his direction and saw reflections in the thick woods, heading northward.

'Looks like they are going to that…' Happy gulped. 'Witch's place!'

'You mean Snow White's stepmother?' Kairi asked.

'The one who almost killed her!' Grumpy growled in his beard. He slammed his club against his palm. 'All right lads! Get your weapons! We're going witch hunting!'

'No wait!' Kairi got in front of Grumpy. 'If Heartless are involved, it best if we three handle it. You guys should probably wait for Snow and the Prince back at your place. They were worried about you.'

'I don't like leaving a lassie to face danger alone.' Grumpy commented.

'Don't worry,' Goofy assured the dwarves. 'Donald and me will take good care of her. A-hyuk!'

'Yeah!' Donald agreed. 'Say, could we help ourselves to a gem of two as a reward?'

'Donald!' Kairi and Goofy chorused together.

'Sorry.' Donald said meekly.

As the dwarves wished them good luck, the three heroes followed the Heartless.

After several hours of pursuing, Kairi, Donald and Goofy finally reached a castle built with yellow bricks and covered with climbers and creepers. There was a courtyard the size of a hall with a well in the middle of it. The castle showed signs of non-activity.

'For a evil queen's domain, it's not that bad looking.' Kairi commented as she and her two friends stepped into the courtyard.

'But not as good looking as the Prince's castle, A-hyuk!' Goofy said.

Donald just shrugged. 'I still say Disney Castle is much more better.'

'Look!' Goofy suddenly cried as he pointed to a door. They managed to catch a glimpse of a gem before it disappeared into the darkness.

'Come on!' Kairi said as she ran after it, following the Heartless down. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves in an underground waterway. Being on their guard, Kairi, Donald and Goofy cautiously walked through the ankle deep waters until they found a doorway that lead above the waterway. When they reached the stairs, they found themselves in a chamber with potions, elixirs, cauldrons, spell books and tomes. Hanging on the wall was a big mirror, beautifully decorated.

'In the nest of the viper,' Kairi quoted as she looked around. She spotted an opened book, resting on a pedestal. Curious, Kairi read the contents:

'Elixir to eternal beauty', Kairi read as Donald and Goofy joined her. 'To create this potion, collect various types of gems and crushed them into powder…'

'How?' Goofy asked, scratching his head.

'Magic.' Donald simply answered.

Kairi shook her head. 'Actually, I think she will used the diamond. After all, diamond is the hardest substance in the world.'

'Mix the powder in a juice made from lotus, rose, chrysanthemum and daisies and let it brew for several hours.'

'Finally, mixed the flowery juice with the blood from the heart of a…'

Kairi stopped reading and had a look of shock and revulsion on her face. Puzzled, Donald read the last ingredient:

'Finally, mixed the flowery juice with the blood from the heart of a beautiful maiden!'

All three of them gulped. 'So that's why the Heartless attacked the castle and stole all those gems!' Kairi whispered.

'So she can become beautiful!' Donald added.

'Using the gems and Snow White's heart!' Goofy trembled.

'Who is in here?'

All three of them turned around and saw a tall lady wearing a golden tiara and a purple coloured dress. She had a stern and evil look on her face. She is no doubt the witch.

'What is your business here?' she demanded.

Kairi strode forward. 'Our business here, is to stop your evil plan of killing Snow White just for your own selfish need!'

'And to return all those gems you had stolen from the dwarves!' Goofy said, wearing a stern look.

'So it was you who stopped my Heartless army from attaining Snow White's heart!' the witch screeched. 'No matter, you, little girl, look like a perfect candidate. Who knows, you maybe more fairer than Snow White herself!'

Donald and Goofy both stood protectively in front of Kairi, weapons in their hands. 'If you want her heart, you have to get through us first!' Donald warned.

The witch just laughed. 'Very well! Magic Mirror, dispose of these two and bring me the girl's heart!'

A face suddenly appeared in the mirror. The chamber suddenly flashed with a bright light, forcing Kairi, Donald and Goofy to shield their eyes. When the light dispersed, they found themselves in an alien dimension. An unsmiling face appeared above of them.

'Welcome to my domain strangers, it echoed. 'And now to meet your doom.'

The face shot a ball of magical energy.

'Protecga!' Kairi shouted and a force field protected her friends and her from the face's projectile. Donald fired two fireballs and Goofy threw his shield. Before they could hit it, the face sank into the floor. The face resurfaced but had Kairi and her group surrounded with the same face. All the face echoed with laughter ad the group could not tell from real to fake.

'Quack!' Donald quacked as the faces continued laughing. 'Which one is which?'

Kairi studied each laughing face while dodging magical missiles. Finally, she noticed that one face was frowning.

'Target the frowning face!' Kairi shouted to the others as she charged forward. With Donald and Goofy covering her, Kairi managed to reach the face and stabbed it. Immediately, the fake faces stopped laughing and disappeared; leaving the real face lying on the floor, moaning. Kairi slashed downwards, right in the centre of its' face. No sooner has she done that, Kairi, Donald and Goofy were immediately back in the witch's chamber. The witch's face paled when she saw them.

'Magic mirror!' she screamed as she backed nearer to an open window. 'Get rid of them!'

'Sorry,' the mirror replied. 'Thou is my mistress but now I cannot help thee in distress.'

Expecting no aid from the mirror, the witch backed away from Kairi and her two friends; oblivious of the open window. 'Stay away from me!'

'Stop!' Kairi quickly warned but was too late. The witch fell down from the window ledge, screaming in fear. There was a sickening thud when the body made an impact to the ground. Knowing what to expect, Kairi looked down and saw the witch lying eagle-sprawl on a pile of rocks. Kairi shook her head sadly.

'Hey look!'

Kairi turned away from the gruesome sight and found Donald and Goofy opening a wooden door: spilling out a pile of gems of different colours and shape. Just as Doc listed, there were rubies, diamonds, sapphires and other valuable gems. Donald's eyes widened as he stared at all the beautiful stones.

'Hey Donald,' Goofy said, hefting a sack. 'Help me put all these gems in this sack so we can return them to the dwarves.'

In his own world, Donald picked up an emerald and stared long and hard at it.

'Donald?' Goofy said, concerned about his friend's state.

As Donald stared, his pupils widened and he started grasping at the emerald. Suddenly, he felt a heavy knock on his head, making him dropped the emerald. As he massaged his sore head, Kairi had Destiny's Embrace returned.

'Come on, Donald.' Kairi reprimanded. 'You know these gems belong to the dwarves.'

Grumbling under his breath, Donald helped Goofy and Kairi load the gems into the sack.

'Thank you so much!' Doc cried gratefully. 'We thank you for bringing our gems!'

'It was nothing.' Kairi smiled.

The group carried the sack full of gems and returned them at the Dwarves' cottage. Along with the seven dwarves, waiting there was the Prince and Snow White.

'I'm glad you're all safe,' Snow White said with relief.

'What about the witch?' the Prince asked.

'Dead.' Kairi answered sombrely. 'Before we could stop her, she jumped out of the window and fell to her death.'

'Serve her right!' Grumpy said with satisfaction. 'Trying to do away with Snow White because of her vanity!' Then he turned to Kairi, grinning. 'Lass, we cannot thank you and your two companions enough for recovering our treasures. We were worried on how to make a perfect anniversary gift for Snow White and the Prince with all of the gems stolen but now they're back, we can start our crafting.'

'Oh you boys!' Snow White beamed at all of them.

'Come on lads!' Doc cried. 'The least we can do is to cook a lunch hearty… I mean, a hearty lunch for everybody to enjoy!'

'Oh goody!' Donald exclaimed. Goofy massaged his empty stomach and licked his lips hungrily. The Prince laughed and joined the dwarves as they entered the cottage. Only Kairi and Snow White were left outside.

Snow White smiled as she looked around the cottage. 'This cottage was where I found refuge from my stepmother. It may not be as grand or noble as my old castle but it such a beautiful place where I made new friends.'

Kairi looked at Snow White. 'You really missed this place?'

'Yes,' Snow White sighed. 'I missed waking up the dwarves and cooking meals for them and cleaning the house when they worked at the mines. It was… Like a home to me.'

After she said that, the cottage suddenly began to glow with a white light: surprising both Kairi and Snow White. When the light faded away, there was an emerald-coloured crystal shaped like an apple floating in front of Snow White.

'What is this?' Snow White gasped at the brilliance of the crystal.

'That is your Crystal of Heart.' Kairi answered. Kairi looked behind her. 'You do know when to appear do you?'

Snow White was startled when Kairi was speaking like that. She was even more startled when a dinosaur-like creature appeared before them.

'Don't worry,' Krocken said sarcastically. 'I'm just a sugar plum fairy.'

'Will you stop being so sarcastic?' Kairi reprimanded him. Then she comforted Snow White. 'His a friend, except his tongue.'

Krocken snorted as Kairi handed him Snow White's Crystal of Heart. 'Well done, I suppose.' Krocken remarked. 'You still got plenty of work to be done.' He placed the crystal into the Safe of Many and allowed Kairi to lock it with Destiny's Embrace. 'By the way, congratulations on spotting the difference between real and fake. Although that Magic Mirror could be less obvious.'

Kairi gaped. 'How did you know?'

Krocken just shrugged. 'I have my ways.'

Krocken was about to disappear into the woods until Snow White called him.

'Mr Krocken!' she called to him. 'The boys are cooking something! Won't you stay for lunch?'

Turning his head over his shoulders, Krocken replied, 'I have other businesses to attend to. Sorry.'

The way he said he, other people may think Krocken just want to be alone and does not enjoy other people's company but to Kairi, she could hear a sense of longing in his tone and she should have sworn there was tears in his reptilian eyes. Without another word, Krocken disappeared into the trees.

Kairi just stared at the spot where Krocken vanished, wondering if there was something bothering him. She then felt Snow White nudging her.

'Come on Kairi,' she said. 'Let help the boys with the cooking. You know how men are?'

Pushing the thoughts of Krocken away, Kairi nodded and followed Snow White into the cottage. Behind the bushes, Krocken watched Kairi and Snow White entered the cottage to join the others. He wanted to join and have some fun but he shook his head and walked away from the cottage.


	5. The Dragon Trials

Searching for You – Dragon Trials

'Hehehehe!' Donald chuckled as he admired an emerald stone in his hand. 'What a beaut!'

'Donald,' Kairi frowned as she looked from above. 'You have been staring at that emerald for like hours. Shouldn't you be driving the Gummi Ship?'

'Nah!' Donald dismissed as he stroke the gem. 'The Gummi Ship is on autopilot and besides; you're the one to talk. You haven't stop fingering that necklace the dwarves gave you!'

'Well,' Kairi said defensively. 'It is kind of pretty...

In gratitude for returning their gems back, the seven dwarves fashioned a necklace made from pure gold and decorated with different type of gems. For Donald, they gave him an emerald shaped like an egg. As for Goofy...

'Yum!' Goofy smacked his lips as he pulled out more pastries from the pouch. 'Snow White sure knows how to make apple pies and blueberry tarts! These are simply tasty!'

'Aren't you wearing too much jewellery, Kairi?' Donald asked as he eyed her own necklace, the one the dwarves' gave to her and the other one Sora bought for her sixteenth birthday.

'They are fine,' Kairi assured, dropping one of the necklace back. 'It's not like they are dragging me down or...'

The scanner suddenly lighted red. Donald went to the screen. 'It's another world! Let see... snowy mountains... bamboos... dragons. This must be the Land of the Dragons!'

'Land of the Dragons?' Kairi asked.

'It's where we help our friend Mulan and Mushu!' Goofy replied, swallowing his last tart.

'This world have no princess' Donald stated. 'Do you still want to go?'

'Maybe you two can see your friends again?' Kairi suggested.

'Why not?' Goofy cried enthusiastically. 'I never get the chance to try the dumpling soup!'

'Food, food, food!' Donald scolded. 'Can you think nothing else but food?'

Goofy just shrugged. 'So say the duck who can't think nothing else but gems!'

Donald scowled as both Kairi and Goofy laughed good-naturedly.

*

The Gummi Ship landed onto the white snow just outside the Village's Cave. Although the Village was welcoming ever since the defeat of the Huns, the outside was not. The sky darkens and storm clouds covered the sun. The weather became bitterly cold. As soon as they stepped out of the ship, a harsh blizzard hit them, blowing bone-cutting breezes and hailstones in their way.

'Argh!' Donald cried as snow covered his beak. Next to him, Goofy was wrapping his arms around himself, making an attempt to warm himself. It failed.

'Quick!' Kairi pointed towards the cave. 'We can take shelter in the cave until the storm subsided!'

She couldn't see her friends due to the heavy snowfall but she could hear grunts of agreement. Bracing against the falling snow, the three of them managed to reach the cave. They dropped on all four with relief, cold, wet and tired from their ordeal. Even Jiminy Cricket shook the snow off his coat and umbrella.

'That was some storm!' he exclaimed as he wringed cold water from his top hat and plopped it back. 'It must be winter here.'

The other three nodded. 'So what do we do now?' Donald asked.

'Why not explore the deeper parts of the cave?' Goofy suggested.

'W-what?' Donald quacked. 'Go deeper into there?'

'Why not?' Goofy shrugged. 'Maybe we can find clues about the Horned King.'

'I doubt we can find anything to do with the Horned King in there.' Donald said dubiously.

'Who knows?' Jiminy joined in the conversation. 'For all we know, there could be secrets headquarter deep in the cave: full of Heartless.'

'One way to find out.' Kairi firmly said as she strode forward. Donald and Goofy exchanged looks before following behind Kairi. Jiminy quickly jumped onto Donald's shoulder so he won't be left behind. As the group trudged through the cave, it became colder and darker. Donald cast Firaga to illuminate the way. The surface of the cave shined from the cave water flowing down from the ceiling of the cave. The ground was soft from the snow and small fog float in the air. Then all of a sudden, the fog thickens, engulfing the group. Frightened, Kairi looked for her friends.

'Donald! Goofy! Jiminy!' she yelled, fighting her way through the fog.

'Kairi!' Jiminy cried back. Hearing his voice, Kairi quickly stumbled to where she heard the voice. By the time she reached there, the fog dissipated and she was alone in the cave.

'Donald! Goofy! Jiminy!' she called but heard no answer from her friends. Instead, another voice echoed throughout the cave.

'Intruder! How dare you trespassed upon our sacred land?'

Kairi firmly stood her ground, her shoulders in a determined posture. 'Who are you? And what did you do to my friends?'

'I am the Guardian of Dragon's Belly Cave!' the voice intoned loudly. 'It is I who protect the caves from thieves and defilers who seek to destroy what is hidden in the cave depths.'

'I'm no thief!' Kairi answered back. 'Neither are my friends! We just wanted shelter from the snowstorm! What have you done to them?'

'Your friends are in a safe place!' The voice assured the girl. 'However, I cannot believe your words that you and your friends do not seek the treasure I am protecting nor let you go in fear you will let others know about this cave! If you wish to prove yourself trustworthy, then you must pass my test!'

'Then I will do it!' Kairi shouted back. 'If you promise to let my friends go and release us, I swear we won't tell anyone of this place!'

'Very well!' the voice boomed. There was a sudden swirl of fog approaching Kairi and when it lifted, there stood a massive red coloured door with golden dragons ornaments on it and a pair of golden handles. 'Heed my words!' the voice continued. 'At the end of this cave there is a precious stone named the "Dragon Heart". In order to get to it, you must pass four tests. Once you pass, you will move on to the next test until you reached the "Dragon Heart". Once you obtained the gem, you and your friends will be set free. But be warned young warrior, if you fail, you and your friends will be imprisoned in Dragon's Belly Cave forever! Make your decision!'

Kairi firmly opened the great door and stepped into the chamber while proclaiming, 'I will take your test, if it means freeing my friends!'

'Then prepare for your first test!' the voice rumbled as the chamber magically transformed into an arena. It was the size of a football stadium with torches in each corner. In the middle of the arena was a picture of "Yin and Yang". Kairi cautiously approached the centre, wondering who is she up against. She had not had long to wonder as two figures materialized in front of her. Both figures wore red body armour and their faces were covered with red scarves and helmets; the only thing visible was their red glowing eye. One of them was armed with a massive sword while the other one pointed a sharp spear at her. At the sound of an unknown gong, the two warriors charged as Kairi summoned Destiny's Embrace.

The first warrior swung its' sword downwards towards Kairi, which she blocked with her key-blade. The second warrior thrust its' spear into Kairi's side but Kairi managed to twist away on the balls of her feet. Kairi knocked the spear off the warrior's hand and swung Destiny's Embrace at the weapon-less warrior's neck. As soon as the blade made contact with the neck, the warrior turned into dust. The first warrior clumsily swung its' sword sideway but Kairi quickly dodged and sank her key-blade into the warrior's abdomen; becoming dust like the first one.

As Kairi mused that her fighting skills had progressed dramatically, she found herself surrounded by four warriors; wearing the same armour as the first two but carrying different manners of weapons. Smiling to herself, Kairi beckoned the other four warriors to come to her. They took the bait.

One hefting a giant battle-axe swung its' axe downwards as it closed in. Kairi moved aside and while the warrior tried to release its' axe from the ground, she parried a mace swing. She kicked the mace-wielding warrior in the chest, making it stumbled towards one of its' comrade. The fourth warrior, armed with a pike, thrust a stab into Kairi's chest but Kairi blocked it with Destiny's Embrace before delivering an upward swing: slicing the warrior into half. The axe-wielding warrior managed to free its' axe and swung downwards towards Kairi. Kairi dodged away, allowing the two fallen warriors replaced her. As she dodged, Kairi sliced off on off the warrior's leg before ending its' life. Now Kairi stood alone in the arena.

A gong sounded again and the arena shrouded with fog again. Only this time there stood a lone warrior wearing the same armour as its comrades but much more taller and stockier. Besides the red, glowing eyes, its' face was covered with a long, smooth beard that reached the stomach. In its' hands was a half-moon blade sticking out from a mouth of a golden dragon. At the end of the pole was a golden stud that was covered with small bumps. The warrior just stood there, his blade resting in its' hands.

Kairi studied the giant warrior and unlike her earlier opponents, this one carried an air of confidence and battle experience. Kairi could feel her own heart thumping with fear but she forced it to calm and looked at the warrior unwavering. Kairi sprinted forward and brought Destiny's Embrace down on the warrior. The warrior effortlessly blocked the bow with his staff and swung the blade towards Kairi's head. Kairi dodged the first swing and blocked a downward slash. Kairi pushed the warrior's blade back and thrust out with Destiny's Embrace: only to clash with the blade. The warrior span its' weapon like a windmill; forcing Kairi to back away. The warrior moved forward, attempting to stab Kairi with its' blade. Kairi stepped aside, narrowly escaping the tip of the blade, and slammed Destiny Embrace onto the blade. Kairi slid her key-blade towards the warrior, surprising it, and slashed through its' body. The mighty warrior dropped his blade and fell into dust. Kairi breathe heavily and wiped away the sweat that threatened to enter her eyes.

'Well', the voice of the Guardian echoed. 'You have passed your first test, young warrior! Proceed to the second chamber!'

A massive door appeared at the far end of the arena. Kairi calmed her breathing as she walked towards her second trial. She found herself in a cave with a giant gap in the middle. On the other side of the gap was another massive door. In the gap were rock pillars that looked unstable.

'Is that it?' Kairi asked in disbelief. No sooner as she took a step, the entire cave began to shake, causing part of the ceilings to fall and her side of the cave to crack. Kairi sprinted before she could fall through a crack and landed on the first pillar. The pillar began to shake and Kairi leaped to the next and to the next. Despite the falling rocks and shaking, Kairi sprinted like a leopard until she reached the door. She quickly went through the door before a giant boulder could smash her. As soon as the door was closed behind her, Kairi was on four: breathing hard at the exhaustion and the sheer terror of falling to her death. Kairi stood up and scanned the next room. It looks like a tunnel: with another massive door at the end.

'Impressive, stranger!' the Guardian's voice boomed through the tunnel. 'You are the first one to progress this far! Now, let see you fare against this!'

Then out of nowhere, a strong blast of wind rushed through the tunnel: almost blowing Kairi off her feet. Kairi grabbed a nearby stalagmite and held on. No matter how hard Kairi tried to step forward, she was pushed back by the power of the wind.

It's no use! She thought hopelessly. There's no way I can get through this! I'm not strong enough!

Then she thought of Sora's capture and Donald, Goofy and Jiminy unknown situation and she firmed up. She firmly rooted her feet into the ground and crawled towards the door. Every time she got nearer to the door, the wind became stronger but did not hinder her. She finally reached to the massive door and the wind stopped.

'Amazing, mortal!' the Guardian boomed as Kairi stood up. 'You have successfully passed all three trials. Onto your final test!'

Kairi opened the door and her eyes widened in surprise. She was a chamber where there were two deep lava pits. In the middle of right lava pit was marble pillar that hold a round-shaped gem that was covered with a powerful aura: no doubt the Dragon's Heart. In the other lava pit were...

'Kairi, help!' cried two figures who were tied up to a rock pillar. The lava beneath them was gradually rising.

'Donald! Goofy!' Kairi cried. Then she turned angrily about. 'I thought you said if I get the Dragon's Heart, you will let my friends go!'

'They are part of your final test.' The voice said calmly. 'You must make a choice: choose the Dragon's Heart and be free or remained forever here with your friends.'

Kairi cursed the Guardian under her breath as she looked helplessly at her friends and the stone. The reason why they were here in the first place was because the Horned King kidnapped Sora. If she abandoned the others, then she will be able to save Sora. But...

Kairi closed her eyes. When Kairi was in Hollow Bastion, it was Donald and Goofy who protected when Sora became a Heartless. They were as much of a friend to her as well as Sora. If she left them behind, Sora will never forgive her...

Knowing what to do, Kairi ran towards the lava pits and jumped over the lava; right in front of the tied up Donald and Goofy.

'Firaga!'

The ropes were burnt, freeing Donald and Goofy. Quickly, they jumped off the platform before it sank into the lava. On the other lava pit, the Dragon's Heart sunk into the depths of the lava. Kairi, Donald and Goofy were on fours, breathing heavily.

'K-Kairi!' Donald gasped. 'Y-you save us! But... the test!'

'Now we will be here forever!' Goofy said.

'I know!' Kairi replied. 'But you guys are my friends. I can't forgive myself if I leave you two behind. I want to save Sora together! I'm sorry, but if this means spending eternity with you, then so be it. Maybe we can find another way out.'

Both Donald and Goofy were touched at Kairi's words and placed their hands on hers. Suddenly, a thick puff of smoke conjured up; revealing four dragons dressed in magnificent robes. They were tall and were surrounded with magical auras.

'Congratulation, young warrior!' the golden dragon spoke that sounded like the Guardian. 'You have passed all four tests!'

Kairi looked puzzled, as did Donald and Goofy. 'But I didn't get the Dragon's Heart. How can I passed?'

The blue dragon chuckled. 'Oh little one. The Dragon's Heart was just part of your test. A test requested by a friend.'

'Friend?' Donald and Goofy asked together.

The golden dragon gestured, indicating a figure to stepped out of the shadows. It was a blue dinosaur with orange stripes on it.

'Hello again.' Krocken greeted dryly.

'You?' Kairi gasped.

The golden dragon smiled. 'To be exact, our cousin.'

'Twice removed.' Krocken replied. He turned to Kairi. 'You had me worried there. I thought you'll never make it.'

'You set this test for me?' Kairi said in shock. 'But... but what happened if I failed?'

Krocken shrugged. 'Then you will get a consolation prize. Of course not! You weren't in any danger at all. I was ready to pulled Donald and Goofy out if you had chosen the Dragon's Heart. This test was simply to see if you have qualities of a true hero.'

The golden dragon stepped forward. 'We, the Four Guardians of Dragon Belly Cave, have been searching for the one who deserve our greatest treasure. We put these tests to find worthy and you have proven that.'

A red dragon spoke in a gruff voice. 'I am known as Li, Guardian of Strength. In your first test, you have shown courage, fighting prowess and skills on the battlefield. You know how to use your blade in a threaten situation. For that, you passed your first test.'

'I am Kuai, the Guardian of Agility.' A grey dragon introduced. 'You showed great agility and speed when in a life and death situation. You were the first to pass that test. I am impressed.'

'My name is Jue, Guardian of Determination.' The blue dragon said in a feminine voice. 'Even in the most daunting situation, your determination and resolve kept you focussed in reaching your goal.'

'That leaves me Cheng, the Guardian of Loyalty.' The golden dragon announced. 'You could have grabbed the Dragon's Heart and free yourself but instead, you chose to rescue your friends and was prepared to remain with them in this cave. That, my girl, is a sign of true friendship and loyalty.' He opened a palm, revealing the Dragon's Heart but was no longer shining. 'You can find a stone anywhere but friendship is very precious. They are reliable and always there for you in good times and bad. Remember young warrior, treasure them well.'

Kairi nodded humbly.

'Here', Cheng said. 'This will help you in your quest.'

The Four Guardians opened their reptilian palms to Kairi and it glowed with a strong light, causing Kairi to close her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she found herself cladded in red armour from head to foot with a helmet and both shoulder pads shaped like a dragon.

'Behold! The Dragon Armour!' Cheng echoed throughout the cave. 'A magical set of armour that grants the wearer strength, speed and magical properties when worn. You only need to summon it in a direst of need. Wear it proudly and woe to any foes who dares approached your path.'

Kairi bowed humbly and gratefully. 'Thank you.'

The Guardians bowed in return. Cheng raised a hand towards a cave wall, opening a passage. He smiled at the group. 'I believed the storm has passed my friends. You must continue your journey. Fare thee well and hope we meet again.'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy waved their goodbyes and walked towards the passage. Krocken joined them but was stopped by Cheng.

'Cousin! A word of advise!' Krocken turned towards to Cheng. 'Do not let your past haunts you. What is done is done. You must move forward if you wish to know true happiness.'

Krocken, who was always sarcastic, actually bowed his head to Cheng. 'I will take your words to consideration.'

He quickly quicken his pace to catch up with the others.


	6. An Old Enemy

'That is some armour!' Goofy exclaimed.

The party were back on the Gummi ship after Kairi passed the Four Dragon Guardians' trials. They said farewell to Krocken who departed in an opposite direction. Donald had already put the ship to hyper-drive as Kairi tried on the gift that was bestowed to her.

The armour was made out of red dragon scales that illuminates in the darkness night and shone with such radiance, covering her entire body. Her shoulder pads were fashioned into dragonheads: protecting her shoulders and intimidating her enemies. The armour, while protecting Kairi, also granted her agility and courage.

'Gosh!' Goofy praised. 'You look more of a Warrior Queen than a Princess of Heart!'

Kairi smiled. 'Thanks Goofy.'

The Gummi Ship suddenly beeped and Donald checked the screen. 'Looks like we're approaching Agrabah.'

'Agrabah?' Kairi interest was piqued as she unsummons her Dragon Armour. 'Isn't it where Jasmine lives with Aladin?'

'A-yep!' Goofy confirmed. 'Hey! Maybe Genie can help us in finding Sora!'

Kairi interest increased more. 'Genie? As in a mystical being that grants you three wishes?'

Donald smiled. 'He's more than that! He is a friend to Aladin. I'm sure he be willing to help us!'

Donald stepped the engine and the Gummi Ship steered into Agrabah.

The blazing sun of Agrabah was heating up the city like baking a cake in an oven. Despite the heat, the citizens of Agrabah, who were accustomed to the desert sun and blaze, were walking down the street, buying food for the evening's meal, selling their products or bargaining with the nomadic merchants who travel to the city to sell their exotic spices and rare jewels. The streets became more crowded as entertainers such as snake charmers and street performers put on their acts to collect their earning from the pleasing crowd. While store holders were occupied with customers, street children will giggle quietly as they steal an apple or a loaf of bread. Such is a life in Agrabah.

In the corner of a street, a small brown furry creature wearing a small purple hat and coat was looking out for somebody. In its furry hands was an apple. Abu the monkey scampered on his two feet and hurried on, looking behind his shoulders. As he was not looking where he was going, he bumped into something making him fall on his bottoms. He nervously looked up and saw an angry face of the fruit stallholder.

'You little thief!' he shouted. 'Give me back my merchandise!'

Abu gave a small scream and ran to the opposite direction: the stallholder in hot pursuit. The little monkey ran through people's legs, under wagons and over rocks as the stallholder disastrously tried to avoid bumping into people. Abu turned his head and when he thought he was safe, he bumped into something again. He looked up but instead of looking scared, he spread a big grin. He saw a face of a goofy dog and standing besides him was a duck. Behind the two animals was a girl with auburn hair.

Goofy picked Abu up in his hands and chuckles, 'Hey Abu, how are you? How's Aladin and Jasmine?'

'Hey', Donald eyed the apple in Abu's hands suspiciously. 'Did you steal that?'

As Abu was shaking his head in denial, the stallholder caught to them: panting and wheezing heavily. 'All… right… you blasted… mammal! Hand… me … back … that … Apple…'

Abu gave Donald and Goofy an innocent look until Donald looked meaningfully at him. Abu's innocent face fell and he gave the apple back to the stallholder. The stallholder snatched it back from Abu's paws, wipes the fruit with his sleeves and walked back to his stall.

'Couldn't we buy the apple for Abu?' Kairi asked as she patted Abu on the head. Abu's spirit returned.

Donald firmly shook his head. 'He needed to be taught a lesson!' Abu stuck his tongue at Donald.

'Yeah!' Goofy agreed. 'And besides, there's plenty to eat at the palace.'

'Abu! Where are you?' a voice echoed throughout the crowd. Stepping from the crowd was a dark-skin young man who wore the same hat and coat as Abu but human-size. Behind him was a dark-skin young girl with long, black hair tied in a ponytail and almond like eyes. She wore blue silk clothing and rich pointed shoes. Her clothing indicated her as one of royalty. Sitting on her shoulders was a red parrot.

When she saw Kairi, the dark-skinned girl squealed and ran up to her. Kairi also ran towards her and both of them embraced. After a long time, they let go smiling at each other.

'Kairi!' the dark-skin girl cried. 'How're you? I'm glad you came for a visit!'

'Thanks Jasmine!' Kairi smiled back. 'I'm glad you're doing okay. Agrabah is such a fine city!'

'Wait until you see the palace.' Jasmine winked. 'You be surprised.

'Donald!' Aladdin cried as he greeted his friends. 'Goofy! How're you? It's been a long time since we met!' He stopped smiling when he saw somebody who was supposed to be here but was not. 'Wait a minute, where's Sora?'

Jasmine also looked up. 'That's right! Where is he?'

So once again, Kairi told them about how Sora was kidnapped by the Horned King, about his plans, and about the Crystals of Heart. 'So the only way to save Sora, is by gathering all the Crystals of Heart before the Horned King do.'

'And you need my Crystal of Heart too.' Jasmine finished Kairi sentence. She held Kairi's hand. 'Kairi, of course we will help. Sora saved me at Hollow Bastion and he helped Aladdin defeat Jafar. Unfortunately, I don't know where is this Crystal of Heart. I haven't even seen it before.'

'Maybe Genie can help.' Aladdin suggested.

The parrot that was sitting on Jasmine's shoulders snorted. 'He can't even find his own ears piercings.'

'Iago!' Jasmine scolded the parrot. Kairi looked up in interest.

'Donald and Goofy had told me a lot about Genie. Does he really grants three wishes?'

'That and more!' A voice suddenly boomed. Blue smokes swirled around the group and stars popped out as a blue figure with black goatee, gold rings pierced in his ears, golden bangles on his wrists and silk pants appeared before them. 'I'm the one and only: Genie of the lamp!'

Kairi was the only person to act thrilled at Genie's appearance. 'Oh my god! I always wanted to meet a genie! I have so many wishes that will guarantee my life with Sora!'

'Wish away beautiful!' Genie grinned.

Before Kairi could utter a word, Donald elbowed her in the knee. 'Ahem!'

Kairi shook her head to the matter at hand. 'But before… personal reasons, I need to find Sora. So I wish to see if Sora is okay.'

Genie winked and twirled around. When he stopped twirling, he was dressed as a fortune-teller and there was a crystal ball glowing in front of him.

'Oh crystal ball heed my words. Show me where Sora is!'

The crystal ball became misty inside but soon showed an image of Sora, his arms chained like an eagle in what look like a cold, damp dungeon. For not seeing Sora for a long time, Kairi clutched the crystal ball excitedly, causing Genie to say, 'Watch it! That crystal ball don't come cheap from the Wal-Mart!'

At close inspection, Kairi saw Sora's body moving: showing that he is breathing regularly.

'He's alive!' Kairi said with relief, tears welling in her eyes. 'I was so worried!'

Jasmine placed her hands on her shoulders. 'I'm glad he's okay.'

'Hey!' Donald said. 'Why don't we wish him here?'

'That's a great idea!' Aladdin agreed. 'What do you think, Genie?'

Genie gestured to the sky, moving his fingers. Genie started sweating heavily until his face turned purple. Without warning, he blew into pieces that floated down as blue-coloured snowflakes. The blue snowflakes pulled themselves together to form a very wobbly genie. He shook his head.

'Sorry', he apologised. 'He is on another world and is beyond my power.'

Everybody sighed. Kairi recovered however. 'There's one thing we can do. Show me Jasmine's special place.'

Aladdin and Jasmine looked at Kairi in surprise. 'Special place?'

Kairi nodded. 'If Jasmine is in a place where she had that special moment in her life, her Crystal of Heart will appear.'

Genie, instead of answering, just pointed up. Everybody looked up in confusion. All they see was the blue sky, clouds and the hot sun.

'Maybe that explosion had given him a concussion.' Iago joked.

'One word out of you and I'm turning you into a stuffed parrot!' Genie warned him.

'Wait a minute!' Jasmine said suddenly. 'I remember! When Aladdin pretended to be a prince, he took me on a romantic flight on Carpet. It was so romantic!'

'Ah!' Aladdin said as he hugged Jasmine from behind. 'I will never forget that night!'

'Can we go there again?' Kairi asked. 'That will trigger the Crystal of Heart.'

'In this weather?' Genie exclaimed, shielding his eyes. 'Girl, you will get roasted up there!'

'Genie is right.' Aladdin said. 'We can always go up there at night. I'll let Carpet bring us all up there.'

'In the meantime', Jasmine held Kairi's hands. 'Allow me to treat you to some Arabian hospitality. I'm sure you will enjoy yourself.'

Kairi smiled. 'Thank you your highness.'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy spent the rest of the day exploring the palace with Jasmine and Aladdin, playing with Jasmine's pet tiger, Rajah, relaxing in the court and having a meal fit for a king. Despite the urgency of the situation, Kairi managed to enjoy her time with her friends: laughing at every jokes Genie makes or Rajah chasing Iago, Abu and Donald. Night fell quickly and the group went to the open court of the palace. Aladdin whistled loudly and something flew towards them. It was a purple Persian carpet with red patterns in the body and golden treads around it. It hovered in front of the group.

'Kairi', Aladdin introduced. 'This is Carpet. Carpet, Kairi.'

'Hello.' Kairi greeted, sticking her hand out automatically. To her surprise, Carpet stood on two and shook her hand. It felt smooth and soft. Kairi giggled.

'Agrabah is filled with wonders! Genies and flying carpets! What's next?'

'You will be surprise.' Jasmine smiled. 'There's many more.'

The group climbed onto Carpet and Carpet took off with amazing speed. They sped through towers and buildings until they were high above the clouds. As Kairi stared in wonder at the stars above her, she imagined the same thing being up in the sky with Sora. Then she shook her head as Aladdin and Jasmine cuddled together.

'This sure bring back some memories.' Aladdin whispered into Jasmine's ears. 'Just you and me, alone, sailing through the wind.'

'It was such a magical and romantic night of my life.' Jasmine agreed. 'My prince…'

'My princess…'

Aladdin and Jasmine kissed, forgetting about the others behind them. The others had different reactions: Kairi was smiling for them; Donald and Goofy shared knowing looks while Abu and Iago made funny faces.

'Argh…' Iago moaned. 'Don't these two have any shame?'

'Don't ruin the moment you feather-brain.' Genie popped out of nowhere and clapped Iago's beaks shut.

Then something materialized in front of the kissing couple, breaking their kiss and causing them to gasp. A violet-coloured crystal in a shape of a lamp hovered in the air and floated down onto Jasmine's hands. Both Aladdin and Jasmine marvelled at the precious stone.

'So this is a Crystal of Heart.' Jasmine marvelled. 'I have never seen such a beautiful stone in my entire life.'

'I don't think the Cave of Wonders have a treasure this magnificent.' Aladdin added.

Just then, Abu jumped onto Aladdin's lap and snatched the Crystal of Heart away from Jasmine's hands.

'Abu!' Aladdin cried.

Abu jumped off Aladdin's lap onto the carpet, only to be knocked in the stomach by Iago.

'Oh no you don't you thieving monkey!'

The Crystal of Heart flew from Abu's paws and high in the air before descending suddenly.

'I got it!' Donald and Goofy cried together but crashed into each other and making the crystal fly into another direction.

'I got it!' Kairi cried as she caught the crystal in her hands however, she took a step too close to the edge and lost her balance. She fell off Carpet, screaming as she fell towards the Earth. In her panic, she let go of the Crystal of Heart but she was powerless to do nothing. Certain she will hit the ground; she landed safely onto Carpet who swoops from above just to catch her.

Kairi took some deep breaths to stop herself from hyper-venting. Her friends came closer to see if she was all right. 'Thanks Carpet; I thought I was done for!' Then she remembered something. 'Oh no! The crystal! It fell into the ground!'

'Carpet!' Aladdin ordered. 'Take us down!'

Carpet descended slowly until they reached the ground. The gang got off and searched the area for the Crystal of Heart; no luck.

'I can't believe it's gone!' Kairi despaired.

Aladdin turned to Genie who nodded, 'On it!'

Genie turned into a giant arrow and pointed at a direction. The group followed him until they stopped, Genie pointing down towards the ground.

'There's nothing here but sand and dust blue boy!' Iago squaked.

'Maybe there's a secret passage.' Jasmine suggested.

Genie turned back and raised his hands. 'Open sesame!'

At those words, the ground split opened, revealing staircase that led to an underground passage.

Genie grinned. 'Those words never fails!'

The group walked down the passage as they went deeper into it. The more they ventured, the more overwhelming the cave become. Small gems stick in the walls and dust of gold littered the ground. Torches hanged on the corridors, making it hot as the part continued on. Finally, they reached an open cavern full with activities. Creatures were pushing wagons filled with gems while some knocked precious stones off the wall with pick-axes. These creatures are dark with yellow, glowing eyes, crooked smiles and antennas sticking out of their heads.

'Heartless!' Jasmine gasped. The group quickly hid behind some rocks to avoid detection.

Kairi narrowed her eyes to get a closer inspection. 'And looks like someone we all know is back.'

At the middle of all the commotion, a huge figure who looked like a black bulldog and wearing red and blue armour was shouting out orders to the working Heartless. 'Faster you pipsqueaks! We don't have all day ya know! I want an entire steamboat filled with gems in the next hour or so!'

'Pete!' Goofy gasped. 'What is he doing here?'

'Causing trouble no doubt.' Donald said.

Jasmine gestured to the others. 'Hey, look!'

Just then, a Heartless approached Pete, carrying something in its' hand. The Heartless stopped before Pete and showed him Jasmine's Crystal of Heart.

'What do we have here?' Pete asked as he picked up the beautiful crystal. 'What a beaut! This will be the perfect present for Maleficent!'

'He got the crystal!' Kairi gasped. 'We got to take it back before he deliver it to Maleficent!'

'So anyone got a plan?' Aladdin asked. Genie turned into a battle commander and table with a map appeared in the middle of the group.

'Listened up you lowly maggots!' he barked out. 'This is how we will engage the enemy: we will thin out their forces by ambushing any fighting units. Once they go into an area hidden from their comrades, we will take them out until a fair number of them are gone! Once we outnumbered them, we will strike at their leader! Anyone has any questions?'

Jasmine raised her hand. 'Or we could just create a diversion. Like that.' She pointed to the centre of the cave. Just in front of Pete, dark wisps appeared and lo and behold, dozen of Heartless appeared: one Heat Sabre, two Clay Armours and nine Soldiers. Pete lost his interest in the Crystal of Heart as he looked at the new arrivals.

'Oh? Reinforcement? Just in time. Now you lot listens, I want ten wagons full of gems. You hear me?'

Without a word, the Heat Saber pointed one of its blades towards the Crystal of Heart and the group attacked Pete. Surprise, Pete jumped out of the way before a Soldier could snatch the crystal.

'Hey, what give? Oh… A mutiny eh? Well, we will see about that! Guards!'

Two Fat Bandits and two dozens Luna Bandits appeared at Pete's side. While the two Fat Bandits engaged with the Clay Armours, the Luna Bandits dispatched the soldiers, only to be dealt with by the Heat Sabre. Watching from their hiding place, a disgruntled Genie frowned, crumpled his plans and threw it over his shoulders.

'My plan is better though.'

The others ignored him as they watched two Luna Bandits dispersed by the Heat Sabre. 'I never thought I see Heartless battling each other.' Goofy commented. 'Those new Heartless must be from the Horned King.'

'Come on! Now is our chance!' Kairi said.

'Leave it to me!' Iago squawked as he flapped his wings. Before anybody could stop him, Iago zoomed past the curved blades of the Luna Bandit, fireballs coughed out by the Fat Bandits, the claws of Soldiers and the iron fist of the Clay Armours until he reached Pete. Iago snatched the Crystal of Heart right under Pete's nose before flying away. It took Pete some time from looking back from Iago to his empty palm to realise the crystal was gone. He chased after him but could not catch up to the bird.

'D-don't… j-just… s-stand there!' he panted loudly. 'F-freeze him!'

Several Fortune Tellers appeared out of nowhere, preparing to cast their freezing spell. Kairi and Donald jumped out of their hiding place, weapons in hands.

'Donald!' Kairi cried as she pointed Destiny's Embrace to one of the Fortune Tellers.

'I got it!' Donald cried as he and Kairi casted Firaga, defeating all the Heartless aiming for Iago. Iago was almost in the safe zone when the Heat Sabre, who was after the Crystal of Heart, dashed towards him. Goofy threw his shield and knocked the Heat Sabre, causing it to lose its' footing and allowed Iago to reached safely into Jasmine's hands. Before Pete or the Heat Sabre could attack Jasmine, Kairi stood before them, Key-Blade in hand.

'Oh, it's you!' Pete huffed as he recognised Kairi. 'Where's the other pipsqueak?'

'He got tired of your ugly mug so I'm here to kick your butt!' Kairi smiled, hiding the pain of Sora's absence.

'Not likely! This time, I'm prepared! Heartless Squad, to me!'

Two more Fat Bandits and six Luna Bandits appeared in front of Pete. Kairi, Pete and the Heat Sabre stood in a stand off, standing still despite the chaos in the cavern. Kairi and the Heat Sabre moved at the same time, clashing blades against each other. Pete barked an order and the Heartless charged towards the duelling warriors. Kairi and the Heat Sabre broke the exchange and turned to their new adversaries. The Heat Sabre flashed through four Luna Bandits, turning them into floating hearts. Kairi blocked a sword blow, stabbed a Luna Bandit defeating it and deflected a fireball back at a Fat Bandit; causing it to stumble into its twins who fell on top of Pete. Pete gave a yelp as the heavy body collapsed on him. Kairi and the Heat Sabre dispatched the rest of Pete's forces before turning against each other. Kairi dodged the Heat Sabre's blade swings with surprising agility and speed; her training in Dragon's Belly Cavern finally paid off. Kairi caught a blade with Destiny's Embrace, pushed it away with a circling move and thrust it into the Heat Sabre's chest. The Heat Sabre shook violently before turning into dark wisps and a heart floated skyward. While all that was going on, Pete managed to climb on his feat; only to find himself alone against the heroes. He shook his fist at them.

'You will pay for that!' he gave a whistle and suddenly, the wall behind him opened. Two molten hands pushed the crack opened and roared loudly as it came into the open. The creature's body was made from molten rocks and lava and shrouded with darkness. It was twice as big as Pete and meaner.

'Oh by the great deserts!' Genie gasped. 'That's a golem! Fused with fire power!'

'Hahaha!' Pete laughed. 'Crush them!'

The fire golem scooped out mud from the ground and lit it in flames. He threw it at the group. Kairi stepped in front of the group.

'Proctega!'

The flaming missile made an impact on Kairi's shield with such a force that it threw Kairi back. Genie turned into a baseball glove and caught Kairi before she could hit solid ground.

'Thanks Genie.' Kairi said as she slid off Genie. Genie turned back and winked.

'Gwahahahaha!' Pete continued laughing. 'Squashed them like insects beneath your feet!'

The golem scooped out another batch of flaming clay and threw it into the group. Kairi stood there at the incoming missile and closed her eyes as she whispered a word.

'Kai Jia.'

A crimson light surrounded Kairi, blinding everybody in the cave. When the light lessened, everybody, except Donald and Goofy, were surprise to see Kairi in red, oriental armour with dragon shaped pads resting on her shoulders. What was even more surprising that she stopped the missile with one hand stretched towards it. Pete looked like his jaws were touching the ground.

'B-b-b-b-but…' he stammered uncontrollably.

Kairi just smirked and threw the flaming clay back at the golem, who in turn flew backwards back into the hole where it came from. Kairi dusted her palms as she looked down on her new armour.

'Wow! This is some armour, all right!'

The ceilings burst opened as the fire golem angrily screamed and slammed Kairi with its palm, drilling her into the ground. Silence ruled the cave and the group stared at where Kairi was standing, horrified of her fate. Then, the golem's hand started shaking and it flew backwards and landed on its' back. Stepping out of the crater the creature made was Kairi, unharmed and not a single scratch on her armour. Everybody was amazed.

'OOoooohhh!'

Kairi smiled. 'Time to finish this!' She summoned Destiny Embrace and jumped towards the Fire Golem. With a feminine roar, she brought Destiny Embrace down on the golem and landed a hit in the middle. It was only a insignificant blow but it was strong enough to cracked the Fire golem in half, turning it into dust and rubble of molten rocks. Also taken by surprise, Kairi mused at her own strength augmented by the Dragon Armour and turned to Pete. Pete was shaking head to toe, nervously chewing on his fingernails. Rolling her eyes, she took a step towards Pete. It was enough to make him run towards the opposite direction, wailing and screaming for Maleficent, his steamboat and his mother. When he was gone, Donald, Goofy and the others joined Kairi.

'That was amazing!' Donald cried as he approached her.

'And we thought you were a goner when that thing smashed you!' Goofy agreed.

Jasmine elbowed Kairi in the mid-section. 'Looks like Sora don't need to be your knight in shining armour anymore.' She giggled.

Kairi giggled too. Iago hovered above her and gently dropped the Crystal of Heart in her hands. 'Thank you, Iago. I'm glad that was over!'

'Indeed!' a reptilian voice said behind them. The group turned to see Krocken approaching them. 'Frankly, that was quite embarrassing.'

'Yeah!' Donald laughed. 'You should have seen Pete running with his tail between his legs.'

'I'm not talking about that buffoon!' the blue dinosaur snapped. 'I'm talking about that crazy antic you pulled!' he glared at Kairi. 'What were you thinking? If it weren't for the Dragon's Armour, you be dead by now! Unless you wanted to experience how a pancake feels like!'

Kairi smiled sheepishly as the armour was stored away. 'I didn't see that coming? Besides, what's matter is the results right?'

'If you die in the process', Krocken argued back. 'Then the results will be disastrous!'

'Oh…' Kairi teased. 'Is that you sounding concern for me? How sweet!'

'In your dreams!' Krocken snorted as he snatched the Crystal of Heart away from Kairi's hands. 'Now if you excuse me, I need to store the Crystal of Heart before you break it; knowing your capabilities.'

As quick as he appeared, Krocken disappeared. Aladdin stepped besides Kairi. 'Who was that guy and what's his deal?'

Kairi sighed. 'It's complicated.'

Kairi and Jasmine exchanged tearful hugs. 'Thanks for everything! Without you, I doubt I'll be able to save Sora.'

'It's the least I can do.' Jasmine replied as she smiled when they broke the hug. 'Good luck and take care in your journey. When you save Sora, come visit me and Aladdin.'

'We will love too!' Kairi beamed as she and Jasmine embraced again. Just as she was about to step into the Gummi Ship, Aladdin and Genie stopped her.

'WAIT!' Genie shouted.

Kairi got off the Gummi ship as Aladdin and Genie caught their breath. 'What's up?'

'You almost forgot your last wish.' Aladdin replied, between breaths.

'Last wish?' Kairi asked.

'Yeah!' Genie panted, as he stood straight. 'According to the Guild of Mystical Beings, I have to grant you three wishes in order to be free. However, since I'm already free, I'm granting you wishes as a friend.' He grinned. 'So Kairi, you have already asked for two wishes, what's your last one?'

Kairi pulled a thoughtful face, aware that Donald, Goofy, Iago, Abu, Carpet and Jasmine were looking curiously at her. Kairi reddened at the thought of the wish but after fighting against the Heartless had increased her confidence and self-esteem, she toughed up and said, 'I… I wish… That… SORA AND I WILL BE TOGETHER FOREVER!'

The words finally out of her mouth, Kairi took a deep breath; uncertain of the silence that her friends were giving her. Then suddenly, they all burst out laughing. Kairi was livid.

'What so funny?'

Donald wiped a tear from his eyes. 'Sorry! It just that, the way you said it, you sounded so desperate!'

Kairi blushed.

'Come on Kairi.' Goofy said as soon as he calmed down. 'Everybody knows that you and Sora will be together forever.'

'And I will make sure of that!' Genie declared as he snapped his fingers. A shower of sparkles descended onto Kairi then disappeared.

Kairi looked accusingly at Genie. 'I don't feel anything. When will I know it work?'

Genie grinned. 'In a few years time.'

Kairi put a pouty face as Jasmine placed her hands on her shoulders. 'I'm sure that you and Sora will be reunited again. And when the day comes that you two decide to share your life together', Jasmine smiled. 'Come back to Agrabah so we can celebrate it together!'

'Yeah!' Aladdin agreed. 'We can make it a double wedding!'

'Oh! OH!' Genie said excitedly. 'That's mean I'll be best man for Al and Sora!'

Kairi giggled. 'Sorry Genie, but I think someone else will be Sora's best man!'

Everybody laughed at the disappointment on Genie's face.


	7. Another Princess

In the dark world of space, the Gummi ship navigates itself though stars and asteroids with such refinement and speed. Inside the ship was Kairi who was taking over the steering as Donald and Goofy slept, tired from the adventures in Agrabah. Kairi stifled a yawn as she avoided an asteroid. Seeing Sora alive and unharmed in Genie's crystal ball gave her hope. Then she giggled; her last wish will surely be enough to save Sora from his fate.

Just as she was thinking of such thoughts, the system started beeping and lighting red; startling Kairi from her daydream. The door behind her slide opened as the sleepy Donald and Goofy stepped into the cockpit.

Donald rubbed the sands out of his eyes as he asked, 'What's going on?'

'Is it time for breakfast? A-hyuk!' Goofy murmured dreamily, hugging his toy cat.

'We got a new world on the screen.' Kairi replied as she studied the screen.

Donald, fully awakened, joined Kairi as he looked at the screen. Goofy, on the other hand, went back to bed; yawning terribly.

'Never seen this world before.' Donald muttered. 'Should we take a look?'

Kairi nodded, tiredly. 'Do you by any chance know a spell to stay awake?'

'There's one.' Donald answered and walked towards the kitchen. 'I will make coffee. Extra strong.'

The Gummi ship gently landed on the lush, grassy plains of this new world. The forests were thick with bushes, ancient trees and fogs. In the horizons, there were rocky hills and mountains that closed in the forests. The forest offered an ominous but welcome atmosphere to all who came. The door to the Gummi ship opened and Kairi, Donald and Goofy stepped into this new world.

'Gosh…' Goofy scratched behind his ears. 'I wonder what world is this?'

'Whatever it is', Kairi smiled as she looked around the forest. 'It's peaceful.'

'I'm not too sure about that…' Donald doubted.

Then all of a sudden, they heard movements and running footsteps in the bushes. Before they could react, a black horse burst out of the woods and galloped towards them. Kairi, Donald and Goofy quickly jumped out of the way and pulled out their weapons in case it was hostile. To their surprise, the horse turned back and there was a female rider on it. She had red, long curly hair, green eyes and freckles on her cheeks. She wore a green dress and soft, brown shoes. Strapped behind her back was a bow, a casket of arrows at her left side of her waist and a sword buckled onto her right.

Her green eyes lit up when she saw Kairi, Donald and Goofy. She patted her horse. 'Easy there Fergus! Steady there! Looks like we found some strange folks!' She turned her attention to Kairi's party. 'Sorry about that, Angus and I were on our routine training and we weren't expecting anybody in the forest. Please forgive us if we… Say, that's sword looks unusual.'

She was addressing Kairi's Destiny Embrace in Kairi's hands. 'Yeah', Kairi confirmed it. 'It's a Key-Blade.'

At her chagrin, the girl sniggered. 'That thing looked so… girlish!'

'Watch it!' Kairi growled. 'It may looked "girlish" but it's also a deadly weapon!'

'Ooohhh! That's sounds like a challenge!' The girl jumped off her horse and pulled out her sword. 'It's been a while since I had a good spar. I could do with a warm-up.'

'Underestimate me and you will regret it!' Kairi retorted. 'Stand back boys! This one is mine!'

Donald and Goofy looked at each other, worried, but stood aside Kairi's way. Kairi and the girl stood in a stance, waiting for one of them to make the first move. Kairi sprinted forward and brought Destiny's Embrace down on the girl. Instead of blocking, the girl stepped aside and let Kairi stumbled forward. Kairi stopped herself and swung a powerful swing at the girl, making an impact on the girl's blade. The girl was surprise at the impact Destiny's Embrace made and counter-attack with a low swing. Kairi merely lifted her leg and stomped on the blade. The blade twisted away from the girl's hand and Kairi used this opportunity to deliver a sideway swing. The girl instantly ducked and avoided having her head lopped off. She retrieved her sword and swung it upwards. Kairi jumped back, avoiding the blow, and charged with a thrust. The girl caught it; swing it in circles before delivering a thrust of her own back to Kairi. Using her strength, Kairi stopped the sword from impaling her head but had to step back as the girl was strong too. Kairi found her footing and threw the girl's sword away from her. She stood on the defensive. The girl stumbled back and charged with a cry. Their blades clashed and both female warriors looked deep into each other's eyes.

'Now you know the saying "don't judge a book by its cover"?' Kairi asked.

'I do.' The girl said. 'I just have to get serious!'

They broke the standoff and continued exchanging swords blows. For half-an-hour with neither sides gaining the upper hand, the two female warriors stood staring at each other, panting heavily. They fell on the lush, green grass and laughed aloud.

'That was some spar!' the girl exclaimed. 'I've never met anybody with such skills! Not even the men in my village could give me such a work out!'

'You're not too bad yourself!' Kairi complimented.

The girl leaned against her arm and grinned. 'You weapon is still girlish though.'

That incest Kairi as she got onto her side. 'Watch it or…'

The girl just burst with laughter. 'Relax! There's no need to get so angry about! I was only pulling your leg.' She stood up and held her hand to Kairi. 'My name is Merida, Princess of Dunbroch.'

At the word "Princees", instead of clasping hands with Merida, Kairi kneeled before her. 'Your majesty', she addressed. 'Please forgive me. I didn't…'

'Don't give me that "majesty" nonsense!' Merida snapped. She just grabbed Kairi's wrist and pulled her up. 'I'm so sick about getting treated like a princess! That's why me and Fergus are here in this "uncivilised" forest trying to get away from all that regal and noble duties of mine!'

'Wow.' Kairi was astounded. 'You're the first princess to be so… rebellious.'

Merida nodded. 'It's just my mother! She keeps on nagging me! "Merida… Don't slouch! Merida, that's not how you eat! Merida… Act more like a princess!" I'm so sick of it!'

'Kairi is a princess herself.' Goofy said aloud.

'Goofy!' Donald elbowed him in the belly.

Merida, however, stopped ranting and stared at Kairi. 'You're Princess too? And you can roamed around with nobody to accompany you?'

'Except for my friends here, Donald and Goofy.' Kairi introduced.

Merida giggled. 'Such funny names! And you're Kairi? Your name is pretty.'

'Thanks. Merida is also pretty.'

Merida held hands with Kairi. 'Please, tell me more. I want to know more about your life as a princess.'

Kairi smiled. 'Of course.'

The two redheads spent most of the day talking about each other, exploring the forests and sparring with their blades. Merida took Kairi, Donald and Goofy through the forest into a barren but moist mountainside. As the sun started to sink, Merida narrowed her eyes as Kairi and her two friends caught up with her.

'There!' Merida pointed to a high, vertical stone that looks like a tooth sticking out. Just behind it was a mighty waterfall, powerful and golden due to the rays of the sun. 'That's the Fire Falls where I heard that only ancient kings were brave enough to drink from it! Today I prove them wrong!'

'How're we going to get up there?' Donald asked.

Merida grinned as Kairi. 'The Crone's Tooth is the only way up. Race you up?'

Kairi grinned back. 'You're on!'

Kairi and Merida sprinted towards the Crone's Tooth and each of them clamped their hands on any rocks that were jutting out. Kairi planted her foot on a rock and started climbing. The sun was burning her back and sweats were threatening to blind her eyes but she kept on going. On the other side, Merida was climbing hard as well. After an intense climbing, the two girls reached the top at the same time. They immediately fell on their backs, panting loudly trying to calm their breathing.

'I beat… you!' Kairi panted.

Merida snorted. 'No way! I was here first! You were lagging!'

Kairi immediately got to her side. 'Want to have another go?'

Merida also turned on her side. 'You bet!'

The two girls suddenly burst with laughter.

'Oh god!' Merida wiped a tear from her eyes. 'I wished I had met you sooner. It's good to have some competition.'

'Tell me about it!' Kairi agreed. 'I haven't have this much fun since… my boyfriend got abducted.'

Merida sat cross-legged. 'This… Boyfriend of yours… Is he like a suitor?'

Kairi giggled as she also sat up straight. 'You can say that.'

'Did your parents chose him for you?'

Kairi was surprise. 'No! We… Knew each other from childhood and we grew and play together all the time with Riku, another close friend of ours. We just… Fell in love with each other.'

'What is he like?' Merida asked curiously.

Kairi responded, 'Adventuress, nice, cute, can be an idiot sometimes, funny, fun to hang out with, loyal, and brave. He rescued me when I was kidnapped and so now it's my turn to rescue him.'

Merida sighed. 'I would love to meet this suitor of yours. I wish I have a man like him.'

'Maybe one day you will meet the right person.' Kairi encouraged.

'If my mother doesn't find me one first.' Merida muttered under her breath but Kairi could hear her. Before she could say anything, Merida suddenly spoke, 'Let's drink from the Fire Falls! I'm really thirsty.'

Kairi nodded and cupped her hands under the waterfall. Merida did the same and together, they drank the sacred water as the sun went down.

Merida, Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Angus walked through the forest until they reached a fortified city made from ancient stones and the castle in the city was magnificent in sight. The group entered the city and passed through the marketplace before reaching the castle. Instead of using the front door, Merida first put Angus in the stable before leading her new friends to the kitchen. The kitchen, as any kitchens, was crowded with cooks and maids: preparing meals and carrying platters of food. Merida stopped maid who wore a brown dress with a bonnet. Merida whispered some words to her and turned to Kairi and her friends.

'This is Maudie.' Merida introduced. 'She's my brothers' nursemaid. She will offer you Dunbroch's hospitality while I have dinner with my family. I wish I could introduced you to my parents but…' Merida grimaced. 'I doubt if mom will allow.'

Kairi smiled. 'We understands.'

Maudie curtseyed. 'I hope you will enjoy your stay here in Dunbroch. Please follow me.'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy followed Maudie as Merida went into the opposite direction. Maudie led them to the dining hall where other members of the court or normal citizens were dining and drinking. Maudie led them to a vacant table and within a few minutes, came back with three plates and three mugs of water. The plate was filled with roast chicken, mutton, veal and cabbages. Kairi looked inside their mugs and was a bit crestfallen.

'I was hoping for some alcohol.' She muttered.

Donald was scandalised. 'Kairi! You're only fifteen years old! You're too young to drink alcohol!'

'And who do you think you are?' Kairi retorted. 'My mom?'

Donald was taken aback. 'No… I mean yes… I meant…'

'Listen!' Kairi snapped. 'I don't need you to tell me what I can do! I'm my own person!'

Donald got angry. 'Why you…'

'A-hyuk.' Goofy smacked his lips, oblivious to Kairi and Donald's argument. 'This mutton sure hit the spot!'

Both Kairi and Donald ignored him and continued to glare at each other while eating their meal. Once the uncomfortable dinner was over, they pushed their plates aside and walked out of the dining hall: hoping the highland's wind will lighten the mood and also to walk off their dinner. Only Goofy enjoyed the evening walk as Kairi and Donald refused to make eye contact. As they reached the stables, they saw somebody familiar: Merida was cleaning Angus' stable. As the group got closer, they could head angry mutterings coming out from Merida's mouth.

'Hey Merida!' Goofy suddenly cried, making Merida jumped. As soon as she realized who it was, she was irritated.

'Don't do that!' she snapped. 'You scared the living heck out of me!'

'Merida?' Kairi asked. 'Is something wrong?'

'No!' Merida answered sarcastically. 'Everything is fine. My dear ole mother somehow managed to get all the clans to come here to present their sons as my suitors.'

'Then that's good!' Donald said. He took a step back when Merida glared at him.

'It's not good! I'm going to be married! Against my free will! And I have say in this! It's over for me!'

'Don't mind him, Merida.' Kairi said. 'Donald is taking the side of the 'law-abiding.'

Donald glared at her but did not say anything. Merida sighed in frustration. 'My mother always planned everything for me! It's like… I have no choice in the matter!'

Kairi walked in front of Merida. 'Why don't you… talk to her? Tell her how you really feel.'

Merida snorted. 'I try but she wouldn't listen!'

'Try talking to me.' Kairi suggested. 'Tell me everything you would want to tell your mom and hopefully take out some of your anger.'

Merida looked at her and shook her head. 'I can't do it!'

'Try.' Kairi encouraged. She screwed her face, imagining Merida's mother. 'Merida, all this works, all the time preparing you, schooling you, giving you everything we never had, what do you expect us to do?'

'Some imitation.' Donald rolled his eyes.

Merida, however, was staring at Kairi in surprise then she followed on, 'Call off the gathering! Would that kill them? You're the queen, you can just tell the lords, and the princess is not ready for this. In fact, she might never be ready for this!'

Kairi took a deep breath and continued on. 'I understand this must all seem unfair, even I have reservation.'

'As if.' Donald chortled. 'She isn't even at age yet.'

Kairi cast a glare at Donald but continued on. 'We can't just run away from who we are.'

'I don't want my life to be over!' Merida countered. 'I want my freedom!'

'But are you willing to pay the price for your freedom?' Kairi countered back.

'I'm not doing this to hurt you!'

'I think you'd see if you just listen.'

'I think I could make you understand, if you would just listen.'

Both the girls said the word 'listen' at the same time. Finally, Merida cracked a smile. 'You know, Kairi. I felt much more better. You're right, I should talk to my mom.'

'Glad I could help.' Kairi smiled.

Merida turned back to grooming Angus. 'But whatever the outcome, this is not going to happen. Not if I can help it.'

The fog that came from the lake dispersed as the morning sun rose up in its' glory. In one of the castle's guests' rooms, Kairi slowly woke up and stretched. She looked out of the window, which overlooked the lake, and admired the sun. As she watched, she had been thinking about her falling out with Donald and felt bad about snapping at him. He was looking out for her as he did with Sora. Following her own advice to Merida, Kairi decided that talking to him would patch things up. As she was thinking of such thoughts, she suddenly saw a fleet of ships approaching Dunbroch. Her first thought was that Dunbroch was under attack by invaders but strangely; there were neither bells nor sounds indicating an attack. Maudie opened the door and Kairi turned to her.

'Maudie!' Kairi exclaimed. 'We're being under attack!'

Maudie just smiled. 'Relax my dear. Those are just the other clans who coming here for Princess Merida's betrothal.' Maudie pointed out of the window. 'Look! The banner with the lyre represents the Clan Macintosh; the banner with the cauldron represents the Clan MacGuffin; and the banner with the rock represent the Clan Dingwall.'

'How do they decide who will receive Merida's hand in marriage?' Kairi asked.

'The suitors will compete in a game chosen by the princess and the winner will be married to her.' Maudie placed a dress on the bed and a basin of water on the floor. 'There's a sponge and some cleaning liquid here and a nice dress for you. If you need anything, just call.'

Maudie curtseyed and walked out of the room. Kairi looked at the small basin and down on herself.

'So this is how you bathe during the medieval ages.' Kairi mused. 'I wonder how I'm getting myself in that small basin.'

After what looked like ages just to bathe, Kairi put on the dress Maudie gave her and walked down to the throne room. The tables that were there for last night dinner were all store away and only a few benches were placed at the end of the wall. Waiting for her were Donald and Goofy. Kairi was about to apologize to Donald but stopped and started giggling uncontrollably. Both Donald and Goofy were wearing kilts, the Scottish traditional garments. Donald was looking sullen while Goofy was pretending to be a girl.

Donald glared at Kairi. 'It's not funny!'

'Sorry!' Kairi said as she wiped a tear from her eyes. 'But it does cover up your rear.'

'If only Mr Scrooge was here to see this!' Goofy joined in. 'His from Scotland you know?'

Donald refused to join in their merriment and was about to throw a tantrum when a door opened. Coming out of the door was a big man with orange hair and beard in a green garment. There was a sword hanged on his waist and a wooden peg attached to his left leg. Besides him was a woman with brunette, raven hair with a touch of grey and wearing a green dress. She wore a golden crown and resembled more of a noble than the man besides her. Following behind them was Merida who was dressed in a turquoise dress with a white bonnet and three boys who were triplets. Merida was looking glum at the whole affair but when she spotted Kairi, Donald and Goofy, she smiled and waved. That caught the attention of the man and the woman. The man walked up to Kairi and her two friends.

'Hello there.' The man smiled. 'You must be the lass and the two strange looking ones that Merida was talking about last night! Welcome to Dunbroch! I'm Fergus, king of Dunbroch, also known as the Bear King. And here besides me is my queen, Elinor.'

Kairi curtsey while Donald and Goofy bowed. 'Your majesties.' They chorused together.

Fergus laughed. 'No need for all that formal hoo-hahs! Relaxed a bit!'

Elinor, however, approved their greetings and turned to Merida. 'A princess should greet like that to their equals.'

'Mom…' Merida groaned.

'By the way', Fergus asked. 'What clan you be from?'

Kairi and Donald looked at each other, trying to think of something. 'We are…' Donald said but could not think of something. Fergus was looking at them suspiciously.

Goofy scratched one of his ears and randomly said, 'We're from the Clan Squirrel.'

Funny at it is, Fergus was convinced. 'Squirrel huh? Must be new or one of those anti-social clans who are in hiding. Anyway, we will be starting…' He leaned and whispered to his wife. 'What are we starting again?'

Elinor rolled her eyes and said, 'Merida's betrothal.'

'Right!' Fergus nodded. 'Merida's betrothal. Just relax and make yourself feel comfortable.'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy bowed as they retreated to one of the benches. They took their seats as Fergus, Elinor, Merida and the triplets took theirs. Fergus announced, 'Show in the clans!'

The massive wooden door that led to the outside suddenly flung opened as three groups of people marched into the hall; wearing different clothes and carrying different banners. As everybody was in, they stopped in front of the royal family and the great door closed behind them.

Fergus began, 'So here we are! The four clans! Uh… gathering… uh… for…'

Elinor rolled her eyes again. 'The presentation of the suitors!'

'All… Right! Of course!' Fergus coughed. 'The presentation of the suitors!'

The crowd roared and Fergus calmed them down and indicated to the group in the middle. 'Clan Macintosh!'

'Macintosh!' roared the crowd.

A skinny man with shaggy, brown hair and beard and wearing nothing but a sleeveless garment and painted with blue war paints stepped forward. 'Your majesty, I present my heir and sire, who defended our land from the Northern invaders and, with his own sword, stabbed vanquished a thousands foes!'

As he was saying this, a younger man with long brown hair and wearing the same attire as his father stepped forward and perform a sword dance before looking sure of himself. This brought cheers from his own clan.

'Gosh!' Goofy whispered to Donald and Kairi. 'He could hurt somebody with that!'

'Or himself.' Donald whispered back.

'For one thing', Kairi joined in. 'Merida isn't impress.' She saw Merida covered her eyes with her white bonnet, unimpressed with Young Macintosh sword display.

'Clan MacGuffin!' Fergus announced.

'MacGuffin!' the crowd roared.

A beefy man with blonde hair tied into two pigtails and wearing green garments and kilt stepped forward and spoke in a deep voice, 'Your majesty, I present my eldest son, who scuttle the Viking war ships with his bare hands and vanquished two thousand foes!'

A chubby, young man with short blonde hair and wearing green garment like his father stepped forward with a log and without any effort, broke it half; receiving a pat on the back by his father and the approval of his clan.

Goofy nudged Donald. 'Hey look! Looks like Merida found somebody she's interested in! A-hyuk!'

True to his words, Merida was peeking out of her white bonnet at Young MacGuffin.

'He is kinda cute.' Kairi giggled.

'Clan Dingwall!' Fergus announced.

'Dingwall!' the crowd roared.

A short, fat old man with tufts of hair, some missing teeth and wearing a green garment stepped off a stool and walked besides a muscular, tall, tanned young man wearing only a green kilt and a claymore strapped behind his back. 'I represent my only son.' Lord Dingwall introduced as the muscular man swelled his chest.

'Ooohhh!' Kairi giggled. 'Look at Merida!'

Merida now sat up straight as she stared at Dingwall's son. Even Fergus and Elinor were in shock.

'Who was besieged by ten thousand Romans and took out their whole armada single-handedly.' Dingwall continued on. 'With one arm, he was…' Dingwall gave a muttered of annoyance and pulled out a small weedy boy with a shock of blonde hair and also wearing green garments from behind the tall warrior, no doubt Dingwall's real son. 'With one arm, he was steering the ship, and with the other, and with the other, he held his mighty son and struck down a whole attacking fleet.'

'Lies!' somebody from the crowd shouted.

'What?' Dingwall sounded angry as he tried to look for the culprit. 'I heard that! Aye! Say to the face!' Then he turned his back on the crowd, trying to taunt the culprit out. 'Or are you a scared sniffling jackanape? Afraid to muss your pretty hair?'

'At least we have hair!' Macintosh said.

'And all our teeth!' MacGuffin joined in, displaying his teeth.

Young MacGuffin leaned forward to his father. 'If he was a wee bit closer, I could lob a caber at him, ye ken.' Speaking very fast and in another Scottish dialect.

There was an awkward silence that filled the hall as nobody understood what Young MacGuffin said.

Goofy scratched his head. 'Did you understand that?'

Both Donald and Kairi shook their heads.

Lord Macintosh broke the silence as he continued to insult Lord Dingwall. 'And we don't hide under bridges, you grumpy old troll!'

Everybody burst out laughing except for the Dingwalls and Queen Elinor who rolled her eyes as Fergus nudged her, laughing.

Dingwall was furious. 'You want to laugh, huh? WEE DINGWALL!' He shouted to his son, who looked straight at Lord Macintosh. Without warning, Wee Dingwall sunk his overlarge teeth into Lord Macintosh's shoulders; sending the lord of the Macintosh Clan screaming and falling down. Lord Dingwall laughed at Macintosh's misfortune until Young Macintosh punched him in the face. Four bagpipers began playing as the fight between the clans began; punches and kicks were thrown everywhere in the room.

Goofy was tapping his foot to the music. 'Hey, they have music accompanying the fighting!'

'I wish they play something else!' Donald grumbled.

'Poor Merida.' Kairi said. 'She's looking bored.

True to her words, Merida looked annoyed at the fight while Fergus was having a time of his life.

'Hahaha! Nab him! Nab him! That's the way it's…' he stopped as his wife gave him a knowing look. 'Oh all right…' he grumbled and stood up to face the fighting mob. 'SHUT IT!'

The fighting stops as well as the bagpipers who looked disappointed.

'Now', Fergus addressed the clans. 'That's all done! You had your go at each other. Show a bit of decorum and no more fighting!'

For answer, Lord Dingwall screamed and somebody punched him, rekindling the music and the fight again. Kairi noticed the empty throne of the princes and connecting with their mischievous attitude from earlier, she knew what caused Dingwall to scream. In the fight, Wee Dingwall was thumping somebody on the head; Young MacGuffin was swinging a bench and hitting warriors left and right while Young Macintosh was in a slap-fight with another warrior. Unable to control himself, Fergus joined in the fray: knocking out several warriors. Lord MacGuffin was handling three warriors at a time; Lord Dingwall broke his back while Lord Macintosh was under a pile of flailing warriors. Fergus was enjoying himself as he threw a warrior towards the now occupied triplet's throne. As the man got up, two of the triplets whacked his back with wooden swords while the other smashed his head with a mace.

Had enough with all this nonsense, Elinor rose from her throne and walked towards the fray. To the surprise of Kairi, Donald and Goofy, a way was clear for her and every warrior stopped fighting as she passed through. She stopped in front of her husband and three of the lords fighting each other and their face fell when they noticed Elinor in front of them. Elinor grabbed Fergus and Dingwall by the ears as Fergus pulled Macintosh by wrapping his arm around his neck while Macintosh pulled MacGuffin by the collar. As soon as they reached the throne, Elinor let them go as the three lords offered their apologies.

Kairi stared at Elinor. For a woman in a rowdy medieval castle, Elinor must be so respected by the clans to make everybody stopped fighting with a glance.

'I wish I could be like her.' Kairi murmured.

Donald smirked, 'You need to be more cool-headed I guess.'

Kairi was about to retort when Fergus spoke, 'Sorry, love. I… I didn't…'

Elinor just looked away from him in silence.

'Yes dear…' Fergus mumbled as sat back in his throne.

Elinor turned back to the clans. 'Now then, where were we? Ah, yes. In accordance with our laws, by the rights of heritage, only the first-born of each of the great leaders may be presented as champions.'

Kairi saw Merida sat up in interest when she heard her mother spoke and knew the princess was up to something.

'And thus, compete for the hand of the princess of DunBroch. To win the fair maiden, they must prove their worth by feet of strength or arms in the games. It is customary for the challenge to be determined by the princess herself.'

'Archery! Archery!' Merida cried excitedly. Elinor and everybody looked at her and she immediately became graceful, 'I choose archery.'

Elinor nodded and turned back to the crowd. 'Let's the games begin!'

This met with a roar of approval from the crowd.


	8. Bearing a Problem

Just outside Dunbroch Castle, tents and stalls were already set up at the green fields just behind the castle and leading to the forest. All four clans were mingled together, eating and drinking, mingling together and exchanging tales of adventures and myths. Every time Kairi, Donald and Goofy passed by, they heard talks of some legendary creatures or fairy-tales.

'Every time we go fishing on the lake', one would say. 'We felt strong ripples shaking the boat and a subtle growl can be heard through the waters. We even saw a long tail disappeared into the depths!'

'Have you heard of faeries who loves to popped out at night? You can literally hear them singing and dancing.'

'A giant serpent hiding in one of the ditches? That's crazy talk!'

'Gosh', Goofy looked scared. 'I wonder if all that are true?'

'Don't believe a single word you hear, Goofy.' Donald scoffed.

'And this is from someone who does magic.' Kairi said sarcastically.

Donald glared at her. They still have not settle their differences since yesterday. To lessen the tension between his two friends, Goofy ushered them forward. 'Come on guys, I can't wait to see who wins the archery contest!'

They elbowed their way through the crowd until they reached the front of the gathering crowd. They saw Fergus, Elinor and Merida sitting on their thrones; the triplets were no doubt up to their usual mischief. In front of their pavilion stood Young Macintosh, Young MacGuffin and Wee Dingwall, armed with bows and arrows. Behind them were three bull-eyes, about one kilometre away from them. The air was filled with cheers from all four clans.

Fergus stood up and cleared his throat to address the crowd, 'It's time!'

'Archers!' Elinor joined in. 'To your marks!'

Fergus, bewildered by Elinor's interruption, recovered. 'Aye… Archers to your marks!'

'And may the lucky arrow finds it target!' Elinor finished.

The crowd roared with anticipation as the three suitors stepped forward with their bows strung. Young MacGuffin, nervous and out of place with a tiny bow in his enormous hands, glanced over his shoulders to the crowd and his father. Fergus, was impatiently tapping his forefinger on the arms of his throne, roared:

'OI! GET ON WITH IT!'

Young MacGuffin pulled the arrow backward and released, hitting the mark by the edge. The Clan MacGuffin moaned loudly.

'Tough luck.' Donald commented, shaking his head at MacGuffin's shot.

'Looks like Merida is happy about it.' Kairi said as she saw both Merida and Fergus laughing as Elinor scoffed at them.

Next was Young Macintosh, who strode forward, swinging his long hair and acting like a peacock. He pulled his bow and let the arrow fly, just missing the centre of the target. Young Macintosh stared at it in disbelief then screamed:

'NOOO! AAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!'

Lord Macintosh shouted from the crowd, 'At least you hit the target!'

This did nothing to appease his son as the Young Macintosh threw his bow into the crowd and continued on screaming and stamping his foot on the ground in the worst tantrums anyone could make. Somebody caught the bow and shouted, 'I got it!'

'Gosh…' Goofy frowned. 'He sure doesn't take losing well.'

'What a sore loser…' Donald quacked.

'Let's see what Wee Dingwall have to offer.' Kairi said.

Wee Dingwall, with his tongue stuck out in concentration and one eye closed, was trying and failing to prevent his arrow from sliding down his bow. Fergus, now even more impatient, shouted:

'OH, COME ON! SHOOT, BOY!'

Fergus startled the boy and forcing him to shoot. All eyes were on the flying arrow and by some unknown luck, the arrow hit its mark: in the centre of the bulls-eye. The crowd cheered loudly and Lord Dingwall was dancing and taunting the other two lords; showing the bottom of his kilt, making Lord Macintosh and McGuffin shield their eyes in disgust.

'I wasn't expecting that.' Donald said in surprise.

'Same here.' Kairi agreed. 'I was hoping for MacGuffin to win.'

'Well I say Wee is the luckiest lad in the world! A-hyuk!' Goofy slapped his thigh as he said it. 'Say… Isn't there Merida walking towards them?'

The three of them were surprised as they saw Merida walking towards her suitors, armed with a bow and arrow and already nocking her bow. She passed through her suitor and raised her bow to fire. Elinor stood up, shocked and angry, and marched towards her.

'Merida!'

Merida ignored her and wiggled herself out of her dress until she was free. She released the arrow and it hits the bulls-eye. Merida strode to the second one, nocking another arrow.

'Merida, stop this!' Elinor shouted at her.

Merida ignored her mother again and release, marking another bulls-eye. She dodged her mother as Merida nocked another arrow and aimed at the third target.

'Merida, I forbid it!' Elinor warned.

Too late, Merida released the arrow at the same time Elinor said those words. Everybody, the lords, warriors and the three suitors, watched in awestruck as Merida's arrow spilt Wee Dingwall's in half as it hit the bulls-eye. Silence filled the field, as everyone knew the princess' participation's significance: the princess has denied her suitor's hand in marriage to her. All the gathering tribesmen, including Fergus, were gaping at her while the three lords gave Merida a stony look.

Merida smirked at her suitors and turned a defying face to her mother's glares. Furiously, Elinor grabbed her daughter's wrist and dragged her towards the castle and away from the crowd. The crowd made room for them like the lake being divided by something magical: leaving everybody stunned and shock.

Kairi turned a worried looks to her two friends. 'I hope she be okay.'

'That's what happened when you break traditions.' Donald said.

Kairi glared at him. 'You're not helping!'

'Erm… So now what?' Goofy asked.

Kairi looked at both Donald and Goofy. 'Come on!'

She strode back to the Castle with both Donald and Goofy hot on her heels.

'What are you going to do?' Donald panted behind her as soon as they were away from the crowd.

'I just want to make sure she's okay!' Kairi replied back.

'We shouldn't be interfering into this!' Donald argued. 'This is a family…'

'She was forced into a marriage she didn't want to have!' Kairi countered angrily.

'Nevertheless', Donald continued heatedly. 'We shouldn't…'

'Look!' Kairi angrily turned towards Donald. 'I just want to be there for her! If you just going to be a jerk, you don't need to come!'

With that said, she stormed off. Donald and Goofy watched her go and exchanged looks: Goofy giving Donald a knowing look. Donald sighed and ran after Kairi with Goody closed behind him.

'Where did they go?' Kairi asked, stopping just in the middle of the castle's ground. Soon, Donald and Goofy joined her, on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. They had been following Merida and Elinor from the field until they enter the castle.

Donald panted loudly, 'I think they went into their royal compartment. Looks like we can't do much now.'

'I hope she's okay.' Kairi said again.

'She's probably getting a tongue-lashing from her mother.' Donald said. 'I mean, if I was Elinor, I would be doing the same…'

'Donald!' Kairi snapped at him. 'Would you just shut up for…'

'Hey guys!' Goofy suddenly interrupted them. 'Isn't that Merida running towards us now?'

Kairi and Donald looked up and saw Merida running down the stone stairs that led into the castle. Merida did not notice them as her head was buried in one of her forearms and Kairi could hear sobbing. Merida ran past through them and jumped onto Angus and with a sharp knee; Angus stood on its hind legs and galloped towards the main gate. Kairi, Donald and Goofy just stood there watching Merida and Angus disappearing into the woods until Kairi snapped into action. She jumped onto one of the horses and made it trot in front of Donald and Goofy.

'Get on!'

Donald opened his beak to argue but saw no point in it and shrugged. He allowed Goofy to lift him onto the horse and Goofy sat behind Donald. Making sure that her two friends were fastened onto the horse, Kairi kneed into her horse's sides and they were soon galloping out of the castle and into the forest. Kairi had ridden a horse before so she did not have any difficulty. Soon, she was catching up with Merida and Angus as they galloped deeper into the forest. Behind her, Donald was bumping up and down while Goofy was holding onto his hat.

Out of the sudden, Angus stumbled to the ground: sending Merida crashing into the ground. Kairi stopped her horse and jumped of it. She ran towards Merida and fell to her knees.

'Merida?'

Merida was crying and lifted her tearful eyes at Kairi. 'Kairi…'

Seeing Merida's tears, Kairi hugged Merida tightly and whispered, 'You had a fight with your mum, didn't you?'

Merida nodded and sobbed, 'Why won't she just listen?'

'There, there.' Kairi soothed her. 'Parents can be like that. You need to show her how miserable you are and maybe…'

Merida angrily shook her head, 'No, even then, she will never listen! There must be another way!'

'Or you could just follow her wishes.' Donald suggested. 'Maybe getting married isn't…'

'Donald', Kairi snapped. 'You're not helping!'

'Then what do you want me to say?' Donald snapped back. 'Do you want me to…?'

'Sshhh…' Merida suddenly hushed them as she gestured at the end of the forest. With all the excitement and the fog lifting, the group found themselves in a ring of stones but that was not the interest Merida had. Looking further up, there was a small, blue mist was floating in front of them. Merida slowly stood up and stumbled towards it, with Kairi, Donald and Goofy following behind her. Before she could even touch it, the blue mist suddenly disappeared but deep into the forest, more of the blue mists appeared: forming a path into the forest.

'What are they?' Kairi whispered.

'Wisps.' Merida whispered back. 'Mum told me they lead to your fate.'

'Looks like they want you to follow them.' Goofy suggested.

'I don't know.' Donald started doubtfully. 'Maybe we should…'

Merida did not listen and strode towards the wisps, disappearing as she got nearer but still leading her deeper into the forest. Kairi, Donald and Goofy followed closely behind. After some time, the group reached a small, wooden cottage. They could see movement through the small window. Confused but curious, the group walked towards it and Merida pushed the door opened. As soon as they stepped inside, they found themselves surrounded with woodcarvings of bears: snarling bears, growling bears, sitting bears, bears with smiles and all kind of bears. In the midst of wooden bears, a short, old lady with shaggy white hair and a long nose was carving more with a small knife. She looked up as she noticed Merida, Kairi, Donald and Goofy entering into her house.

'Oh, look around.' She welcomed them. 'You holler if you see anything you like. Everything is half off.'

'Half off?' Donald cried in excitement as he looked around the shop. 'Oh boy!'

'I want to buy this one!' Goofy hugged a puppy-eyed bear.

Merida, however, ignored the carved bears and approached the old lady. 'Uh… Who are you?'

The old lady just shrugged and continued with her woodcarving. 'Just a humble woodcarver.'

Merida looked even more confused. 'Uh… I don't understand.'

Kairi started tapping on Merida's shoulders. 'Um… Merida? Look.'

Merida turned towards Kairi's direction and her jaws dropped. In one corner, a broom was sweeping the floor by itself.

'Your broom!' Merida gasped. 'It's sweeping by itself!'

Donald, who was looking at a standing bear, dismissed it. 'See them a lot in Disney Castle.'

The old lady, however, reacted more by snapping her fingers, causing the broom to fall lifeless onto the floor. 'That's ridiculous! Wood cannot be imbued with magical property. I should know, I'm a wi… Whistler… Of wood!'

Kairi sense something was afoot and looked around. She spotted a black crow perching on one of the beams. Kairi moved towards it.

'That's stuffed!' the old lady claimed.

Kairi ignored her and extended her hands to touch it, only for it to snapped it beak and crowed, 'Stay off the crow!'

Merida Gasped as Kairi quickly pulled her hand away. 'The crow's talks!'

'See what else I can do! La-la-la-la…' the crow danced on the beam.

The old lady gestured and the broom lying on the floor lifted up by itself and knocked the crow off the beam before sweeping it away.

Merida connected two and two together and pointed at the old lady. 'You're a witch!'

'Woodcarver!' the lady denied it.

'You'll change my fate!'

'Woodcarver!'

'You see; it's my mother…'

The witch sighed with exasperation. 'I'm not a witch! Too many unsatisfied customers!'

'There's no denying you're a witch. 'Donald joined in. 'The broom and the crow gave that away. You should put more effort if you want to hide your identity.'

'Yeah!' Kairi demanded. 'Why don't you help us?'

'Hey', Goody said. 'Can I get some service here?'

The witch suddenly stopped as she dangerously said, 'If you're not going to buy anything, get out!'

'No', Merida shouted. 'The wisps led me here!'

'I don't care! Get out! Shoo! Get! Be gone with you!' Before anyone could do anything, the witch snapped her fingers and suddenly sharp knives materialized out of nowhere and pointed towards the group. Donald made a gulping sound as the knives drove the party towards the door.

'I'll buy it all!' Merida suddenly shouted.

The knives stopped chasing them out, still floating in mid-air. The witch was surprise, 'What… what's that?'

'Every carving.' Merida confirmed, her friends nodding frantically.

'It's okay Merida.' Goofy interjected. 'I can pay for mine own.'

The floating knives pointed away from the group but have not relaxed. The witch eyed them sceptically. 'And how are you going to pay for that?'

Merida pulled out a pendant that was around her neck while Goofy pulled out a small quarter from his world. The witch took a closer look at the offered price.

'Oh my!' she exclaimed. 'Lovely, that is! And what strange currency that one!' The last statement was for Goofy's coin. All the knives fell to the floor with a loud clatter and the witch made a snatch for the pendant, only for Merida to pulled it away from her reach.

'Every carving', she repeated and added. 'And one spell.'

The witch arched her eyebrows. 'Are you sure you know what you're doing?'

'I want a spell to change my mom. That will change my fate.' Merida said determinedly.

The witch looked at Goofy who was holding a puppy-eyed bear.

'I'm okay with the bear.'

'Done!' the witch cried and grabbed the pendant and the coin. She pocketed them and walked out of the cottage. Confused, the group followed them.

'Where are you going?' Merida questioned. 'What are you doing?'

'Never conjure where you carve, very important!' the witch answered and quickly turned back to the cottage. When the group re-entered the cottage, they were surprise at the sudden makeover. Every wooden bears were gone and the cheerfully lit cottage was replaced by a dark and ominous surrounding. The cottage was only lit up with small candles, there were sacks of what looks like ingredients in them and there were some instruments with magical properties. In the middle of the cottage was a black cauldron.

'The last time I did this was for a prince.' She told them and clapped her hands; the cauldron suddenly sparked with green light and started bubbling.

The crow landed on the beam. 'Easy on the eye. Fantastic!'

The witch continued as she walked towards them. 'He demanded I give him the strength of ten men, and he gave me this.'

She flashed them a coin with two crossed axes. Merida and her friends looked at it. 'A spell', she continued. 'A spell that would change his fate.'

'And did he get what he was after?' Merida asked.

'Oh! Yes!' the witch cried excitedly as she put back the coin and walked away from them. 'And made off with an especially attractive mahogany cheese board.' She walked around her cottage, obviously looking. 'Now, what do I need? Aha!'

She dived into a sack and scooped some ingredient and threw it into the cauldron. Immediately, a storm brewed in the cauldron. Next, she showed them a small twig and tossed it into the cauldron; causing it to turned ice blue. Without warning, the crow hovered next to Merida and pulled out a strand of Merida's ginger hair and handed it to the witch. The witch glanced and twirled it into the cauldron, turning it into fiery red. The witch jumped onto a stool with a ladle in her hands and began stirring the mixture. After a few stirs, the witch pulled out a melted ladle, which she tossed it away with a shrug. She put on a metallic mask and placed a bird size version on her familiar before sprinkling something into the potion. Merida, Kairi, Donald and Goofy leaned forward to see the potion. The witch noticed them and quickly covered Merida's eyes.

'Best covered your eyes, dearies!' she warned Kairi and her two friends. 'This could get messy!'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy covered their eyes just in time. They heard a small explosion and felt a massive white light flashing through their fingers. They slowly opened their eyes as the bubbling in the cauldron gradually ceased and the witch fished something out of the potion.

'Now let see. What have we here?'

She pulled out a tart from the potion.

'Mmmm', Goofy said. 'That's look delicious!'

He reached out a hand to take the tart but drew it away as the witch smack his hand.

'No touching.' She clucked as Goofy blew on his hand.

Merida eyed it sceptically. 'Uh… A cake?'

The witch raised an eyebrow. 'You don't want it?'

'Yes! I want it!' Merida quickly said. 'You're sure if I give this to my mum, it will change my fate?'

'Oh, trust me.' The witch winked. 'It will do the trick, dearie.' The witch gave the tart to Merida. 'Expect delivery of your purchase within a fortnight.' She then turned to Goofy. 'You can take your purchase with you.'

Goofy hugged his carving as Merida took the tart in both hands. The group exited the cottage. Behind them, the witch was muttering to herself.

'Oh! Oh! What was that thing about the spell?'

That caught Merida attention and she whirled around. 'Did you say something… about… the spell?'

She did not get any answer because the witch and her cottage mysteriously disappeared. The group looked at each other in surprise and they try to locate the cottage, no luck.

'So…' Goofy said after a long search. 'Does that means we can't get refunds?'

'Come on.' Merida announced. 'Let's get back to the castle.'

Merida led the way home through the forest, now began thickening with fog.

Night had befallen Dunbroch with the citizens retiring to bed or making final preparation for their business the next day. The great hall of the castle, however, was in full swing as the hall was lighted up with bonfires and there was boisterous singing in it. Strangely, the kitchen was emptied of servants or cooks; one must wonder who were preparing the meals to those who were still in the great hall. It was dark and quiet.

The door that led to the stables slowly opened and Merida, Kairi, Donald and Goofy stepped into the kitchen quietly. In her hands was the tart that the witch made for Merida. She looked around and after making sure nobody was in the kitchen to witness, save for Kairi, Donald and Goofy, she took out a tea tray and prepared some tea; surprisingly for a tomboy. After she poured the tea into a small cup, she placed the tart on a small plate.

'Merida', Kairi began. 'Are you sure you want to do this? What if something bad happens to your mom?'

'Yeah!' Donald, for the first time he and Kairi began arguing, agreed with her. 'You don't even know what will the spell do in the first place.'

'Look!' Merida turned around to face them. 'If I don't do this, my mom will be controlling my fate forever! Besides, I doubt anything bad will happen to mom.'

'But…' Kairi began but could not.

'Merida!'

Merida and Kairi suddenly jumped as Elinor approached them. To their surprise, Elinor placed her hands on Merida's shoulders; inspecting her.

'Oh, I've been worried sick!'

Merida was surprised. 'You… You were?'

'I didn't know where you'd gone or when you'd came back!' Elinor continued. 'I didn't know what to think! Look at your dress!'

'Oh, Angus threw me off. But I'm not hurt.' Merida assured her.

Elinor looked relieved. 'Well you're home now. So that's the end of it.'

Merida raised an eyebrow. 'Honestly?'

Elinor turned gratefully to Kairi. 'Thank you for taking care of Merida.' Before Kairi could stammer a "welcome" and Merida could deny being taken care of, Elinor smiled. 'I've pacified the lords for now. You're father's out there 'entertaining' them.'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy craned their ears and can clearly hear Fergus' loud singing about bears and slaughter.

'Of course', Elinor continued. 'The decision still has to be made.'

At her words, Kairi looked at Merida just in time to notice a sign of disappointment before she turned around and pick up the tray with the tart and tea. Elinor looked at it in astonishment, 'What's this?'

'It's a peace offering. I made it, for you!' Merida lied with a smile.

'You made this for me?' Elinor was still surprised as she took a slice of tart and popped it into her mouth. Merida, Kairi, Donald and Goofy looked at her, expecting any form of changes. Elinor closed her eyes in bliss before it suddenly twist.

'How do you feel?' Merida asked.

'What?' Elinor gagged. 'What is that?'

'Different?' Merida persisted.

'Tart! And…' Elinor made a face. 'Uh… Gamy!'

Elinor put the plate down as her face coloured slightly green. Kairi, Donald and Goofy looked at her in alarm. Merida, however, only had one thing in her mind.

'Have you changed your mind at all about the marriage and all that?' she asked hopefully.

Instead of answering, Elinor downed the tea and gurgled the brown beverage in her mouth; hoping to get rid of the taste. She swallowed the tea after gurgling for a few minutes and set the teacup down.

'Now, why don't we go upstairs to the lords and put this whole kerfuffle to rest?' she said and grabbed Merida's wrist. She led her out of the kitchen and Merida followed her, crestfallen. Kairi, Donald and Goofy followed behind them. No sooner had they left the kitchen that Elinor suddenly bend over, clutching her stomach. Now Merida was really concerned.

'Mother?'

'I'm woozy suddenly. Oh, my head is spinning like a drop!'

Kairi whispered into Merida's ears, 'She looked ill. We should take her to the infirmary.'

Elinor suddenly fall and Merida caught her before she hit the floor.

'Mom!'

'Oh!' Elinor moaned. 'Suddenly I'm not well!'

'Er…' Merida said uncertainly. 'How do you feel about the marriage now?'

'Merida!' Elinor gasped. 'Ah! Will you take me to my room?'

Merida took Elinor's hand while Kairi, who was always a helping person, took Elinor's other hand and both the girls help her up the stairs. The stairs that led to the upper galleys were in the great hall. The group passed through singing and drinking warriors with Fergus being the loudest. They almost reached the top of the stairs when someone stopped them.

'Queen! We've been waiting, patiently.'

The group turned to see MacGuffin, Macintosh and Dingwall standing up from the table they sat as they looked up at the queen. MacGuffin's last word was heavily emphasized.

Elinor weakly nodded at them. 'My lords, I am out of sort at the moment. But you will have my answer…' She suddenly released a loud burp, startling the three lords. Despite the situation, both Merida and Kairi tried not to giggle. Elinor gathered herself and continued, 'Presently. Now, if you'll excuse me.'

The girls helped Elinor up the stairs as the three lords continued to stare at them, unable to take in that such a sophisticated person was capable of such behaviour.

'Erm…' Goofy tried to think what to say to them. 'She must have eaten something.'

'Bad potatoes.' Donald confirmed, shaking his head as he played along with Goofy statement. 'We better see if she's all right or not.'

The both of them hurried upstairs just in time for Kairi to opened the doors to Elinor's bedchambers and Merida dropped her on the bed. Goofy and Donald quickly closed the door behind them.

'Just take all the time you need to get yourself right, mom.' Merida said as she made sure her mother was comfortable. 'And maybe in a bit you might have something new to say on the marriage… Ouch!'

Merida rubbed her sides and glared at Kairi who nudged her.

'This isn't the time to worry about the marriage.' Kairi whispered to her. 'Something bad is going on.'

Before Merida could retort, Elinor groaned, 'What was in that cake?'

'Cake!' Merida suddenly said.

Just then, Elinor suddenly rolled off the bed; away from the girls' view.

'Mom?' Merida said out loud. 'So, I… I'll just tell them the marriage is off?'

Not expecting it, there was a growl resonating in the room. Goofy placed a hand on his belly. 'A-hyuk! I almost forgot! It's dinner time!'

Donald however, craned his ears. 'Erm… Goofy, I don't think that's your stomach.'

Kairi was pointing to where Elinor fell down. 'Merida, I think you better check on your mom.'

Merida nodded and stepped forward. 'Mom?'

Kairi also joined Merida as they walked around the corner of the bed. They were surprised that they did not see Elinor but a giant figure: wrapped in the fine duvet, brown and furry. The creature rose to its full height and both the girls hugged each other and screamed in horror.

'BEAR!'

The bear heard their scream and looked down on itself. Instead of attacking the group in the room, like most bears would, this one just freaked out and started to go into its animalistic frenzy: panicking and tearing up the room. Soon, pieces of cardboards and silk were flying in the air. Kairi and Merida had to duck here and there to avoid getting hit while Donald and Goofy, still oblivious to certain facts, brought out their weapons to do battle with the bear. Kairi, while dodging a flying cupboard, spotted what Donald and Goofy were about to do and put herself between them and the bear.

'Don't!' she cried as Donald was about to cast a spell and Goofy was about to ram into her. 'That's Elinor!'

Goofy lowered his shield and scratched his head. 'Are you sure you didn't eat anything bad, Kairi? That doesn't look anything like Elinor.'

Donald face palmed and explained to Goofy. 'Don't you see Goofy? That tart that witch gave Merida transformed Elinor into a bear!'

After calming down a bit, Merida stared at the bear in horror. 'Mom, you're… You're a bear! Oh, that scaffie witch gave me a gammy spell!'

Elinor, now a bear and unable to speak, suddenly stopped and looked at Merida; puzzled and surprised. Merida raised her hands in a defensive manner.

'It's not my fault! I didn't ask her to change you into a bear! I just wanted to change… you.'

Elinor started with a soft growl before turning it into a roar of anger. Merida, Kairi, Donald and Goofy had to cover their ears lest their ears will be damaged by Elinor's roar. After roaring for a good few minutes, Elinor started pacing around Merida, growling in frustration. Kairi, Donald and Goofy watched this exchange in puzzlement.

'Does anybody here speak bear?' Donald asked.

'MMmmm…' Goofy demurred while rubbing his chin. 'I know! She's telling Merida to eat more vegetables! To wash behind the ears when bathing! And not to talk with her mouth full!'

Elinor glared at Goofy in annoyance. Kairi whispered to Goofy, 'You're not helping, Goofy.'

Merida rolled her eyes. 'There's no point in having a go with me. The witch is to blame! Goggly eye!'

Elinor looked at her crown, which was on the floor. Surprisingly for a bear with giant paws, she carefully pick it up with two paws and placed it on top of her head; looking quite ridiculous with it.

'I'll go over to her place!' Merida assured her mother. 'Unbelievable! I'll get her to fix this!'

'Maybe Donald can help.' Kairi suggested and turned to Donald. 'Donald, you're a wizard. Can you reverse the spell?'

Before Donald could reply, Merida suddenly burst out, 'He's a wizard? Why didn't you say so? I could have ask him instead of asking for that gammy witch!'

Donald frowned as he studied Elinor. 'To tell you the truth, I'm not familiar with potions and curses. I'm more learned in arcane or elemental magic. If only Merlin or Yensid were here…'

'But we can't take them to either Merlin or Yensid.' Kairi argued. 'I thought we couldn't do that.'

'Merlin? Yensid? Take us where?' Merida was becoming more bewildered. 'What in the blazes are you two talking about? We can't just leave my mom like this! We have to do something!'

'Why not ask your dad?' Goofy suddenly asked, his ear against the door. 'I think he is coming up, with the others too!'

Just as Goofy said, there was a loud commotion coming from the stairs, becoming louder as the source got nearer.


	9. Bear Princess

Merida quickly opened the door and looked out of the room. She could hear her father shouting and heavy footsteps approaching.

'Oh Nessie!' Merida gasped, as she looked around frantically. To her horror, Elinor, in her bear form, went towards the opposite direction. The Merida cursed and she turned to Kairi, Donald and Goofy. 'Try to distract them while I get mom out of here!'

Merida ran after Elinor as Kairi and her two friends met with Fergus, the lords and their warriors.

'What's going on here lass?' Fergus asked. 'We heard a roar.'

'We didn't see anything!' Kairi quickly denied.

Then, they heard a scream where Merida and Elinor headed.

'BEAR!'

'It's Maddie!' Fergus cried. 'COME ON BOYS!'

He led the lords and the warriors towards the scream, leaving Kairi, Donald and Goofy behind.

'Gosh!' Goody said. 'What are we going to do?'

Kairi turned to Donald. 'Do you know any transformation spells?'

Donald opened his beak, closed it and looked crestfallen. 'No.'

Kairi looked around desperately and spotted giant bear skin hanging on the wall. She quickly pulled it off its hanger and turned to Donald and Goofy.

'Donald, jumped on Goofy's shoulders and cover this fur over your bodies. If they're hunting for a bear, they got one!'

'Now where did that beastie get to?' Fergus whispered as he and the lords wandered through the castle. Then they stopped as a huge figure were right in front of them, its giant form casting a huge shadow over the corridor and it was matted with brown fur and dark claws. It was Donald and Goofy with Donald standing on Goofy's shoulders while holding the fur that covered only the back and sides of their bodies and not the front.

'Erm...' Donald said awkwardly. 'Rarr?'

Fergus, the lords and their warriors yelled at the top of their lungs and charged towards them: waving their swords in circles over their heads and brandishing their spears.

'QUACK!' Donald quacked, almost ruining their disguise, as Goofy ran the opposite direction: leading the warriors away from discovering Elinor. Kairi popped out of her hiding place and smiled.

'Good job, boys.' She muttered before heading off to find Merida and Elinor. She did not have to go far until she heard voices in one of the rooms. She quickly opened the door and found Merida and Elinor with the triplets: Merida negotiating with the triplets.

'Fine, a year!' Merida fumed.

The triplets nodded as Kairi stepped into the conversation. 'Donald and Goofy are distracting your father and the others. We need to get your mom out of here!'

Merida nodded. 'The boys will handle that.'

Kairi faced the triplets. 'Can you also help my friends out there?'

One of the triplets held his hands out, expecting something. Confused, Kairi turned to Merida who scowled. 'They are asking for something in return.'

Desperately, Kairi pushed her hands into her pockets until she found what she was looking for: three wrapped candies.

'Here! These are coloured sugar lumps! A specialty from my… Clan.'

Each of the triplets snatched a piece of candy and nodded. They ran out of the room, leaving Kairi, Merida and Elinor.

'Now let's get out of here.'

'RUN GOOFY, RUN!' Donald yelled.

'I'M RUNNING AS FAST AS I CAN!' Goofy shouted back as he turned into a corridor.

Donald and Goofy, with the bearskin still on, were running away from Fergus and the other warriors who thought they were the bear that the warriors heard earlier. Donald and Goofy thought they were done for when they noticed that the group of warriors stopped chasing them as something else seem to distract them.

'Look!' one of the warriors shouted. 'It's over there!'

The mob of warriors ran the opposite direction of where Goody and Donald were. Confused, they were about to find out what was going on when there was another shout.

'There it is!'

The mob turned to another direction. Even more puzzled, Donald and Goofy were about to join the mob when something tugged at the bearskin they were wearing. They whipped around and were relieved that it was only one of the triplets. One of them pointed at they saw another triplet holding a roast chicken and a torch. When he raised the chicken and the torch, it created a giant shadow of a bear. He lowered the chicken but the mob ran towards the opposite direction: no doubt the other brother was doing the same thing.

'That's clever.' Donald quacked as he jumped off Goofy's shoulders.

'A-hyuk!' Goody agreed. 'Why didn't we think of that earlier?'

Before Donald could shrug, one of the triplets, Hamish, beckoned them to follow him. Donald and Goofy jogged behind Hamish and soon they were in the kitchen: Kairi, Merida and Elinor waiting for them.

'I'm glad you guys are okay.' Kairi said with relief and was about to hug Donald but remembering their argument, hesitated. Donald also hesitated in his hug and it was an awkward situation. Thankfully, two more of the triplets, Hubert and Harris arrived in the kitchen.

'Good job, boys!' Merida ruffled one of the triplets' head. 'Where did you lead dad and the others to?'

All the boys grinned and pointed upwards, indicating to the tallest towers of the castle. Merida grinned and ushered her mother out of the kitchen. She looked over her shoulders.

'Now, I'll be back soon. Go on and help yourself to anything you want, as a reward.'

Merida, Kairi, Donald and Goofy exited the kitchen and closed the door behind them.

'You know.' Donald chuckled. 'Your brothers reminded of my own nephews: Louie, Dewey and Huey.'

'That's nice and all.' Merida replied distractedly. 'Now let's get mom to that witch's cottage and make her turn mom back to human.'

'Erm… Merida?' Kairi looked around. 'Where's your mom?'

They all look around, panicked that they could lose something so big. Goofy pointed out, 'Look! There she is!'

They all turned to see Elinor running out of the gates, giving a female bear roar. Merida ran after her.

'Mom! Come back!'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy followed after her. Despite the darkness, the group ventured deeper into the woods: following the roars and heavy panting of Elinor. After a while though, they lost track of Elinor and were wandering aimlessly in the woods. Merida looked around, desperately.

'Oooohhhh… Where has she gone?' Merida whirled around.

'She could be anywhere right now.' Kairi put in as she tried to calm Merida. 'Relax Merida, I'm sure we can find your mom when morning comes.'

Merida whirled to face Kairi. 'It's that witch's fault! I knew I shouldn't had trusted that old hag!'

Kairi finally snapped it. 'Listen Merida, the witch maybe the one who gave you that magical cake but it was you who insisted that you wanted your mom to change: to change your destiny!'

Merida stopped ranting about the witch and looked at Kairi, her face mounting with fury. 'I did it so I can change me future, me destiny!'

'Then you're being selfish!' Kairi argued. 'You didn't care what would happened to your mom! All you cared about not wanting to marry three boys so you can just ride in the forest and shoot your arrows anyhow you please! Now, your mother is trapped in a spell all because of your selfishness!'

Merida stumbled backwards as if Kairi slapped her. Then she snapped back. 'How dare you? How dare you lecture me about selfishness?'

'I dare because you need one!' Kairi retorted back.

'Erm… girls?' Goofy interrupted before Merida could retort back. 'I think I hear a bear growling. Either that or it's my stomach.'

The two girls stopped arguing and followed Donald and Goofy. Goofy led them deeper into the woods until they found Elinor just standing on her fours: looking at something curiously. The group looked and to their relief, they found the witch's cottage.

'I can't believe it!' Merida gasped. 'We found it!'

'Oh goody!' Goofy clapped his hands together. 'Then I can get a refund! Or better yet, I could change bears! Maybe I buy the twin bears or maybe the smiling bear or the pouty bear or…'

'Merida bought the entire stock remember?' Donald reminded Goofy. Goofy shoulders slumped as the group entered the cottage.

It was empty.

'No!' Merida keep shutting and opening the door: still no changes. 'No! No! No!'

'Merida!' Kairi shook Merida. 'Calm down! I'm sure that there is something that the witch left that could help us… Oopps!'

Kairi accidentally activated something and suddenly a black cauldron appeared in the middle of the cottage. Above it was a ghostly image of the witch. Then it spoke.

'Welcome to the Crafty Carver, home of bear carvings and novelties. I am completely out of stock at this time, but if you'd like to inquire about a portrait or wedding cake toppers, pour via; one into the cauldron. If you like Bedouin garlic, vial two. If you're that red-haired lass; vial three.'

Merida quickly poured the third vial that the image indicated.

'Princess, I'm off to the Wickerman's festival in Stoneleigh. I won't be back till spring. There's one bit I forgot to tell you about the spell. By the second sunrise, your spell will be permanent, unless you remember these words; "Fate be changed, look inside. Mend the bond torn by pride."'

Merida frowned. 'Fate be changed? Mend the bond? What does that mean?'

'Maybe the witch is saying that there is a way to turn your mother back and return you to your original destiny.' Kairi suggested.

Merida nodded but still looking puzzled. The image of the witch continued.

'One more time, "Fate be changed, look inside. Mend the bond torn by pride." That's it! Ta-ta! Oh, and thank you for shopping at the Crafty Carver!'

The image of the witch disappeared and Merida, wanting more advise, panicked. She grabbed all the vials and poured them into the cauldron, resulting with different messages about the first two options. Donald looked uneasily at Kairi.

'Normally, mixing unknown potions together is an extremely bad idea.'

'I'm going to agree with you on this one.' Kairi said as she saw the cauldron starting to bubble. 'TAKE COVER!'

Elinor quickly grabbed Merida and shielded her away from the cauldron. Goofy brought out his shield and Donald and Kairi pointed out wand and key-blade.

'PROCTECGA!'

They barely threw the shield when the cauldron exploded. When the dust settled, the group were back outside: the witch's cottage turned into ashes and disappeared completely. Thankfully, no one was hurt thanks to the shield that Donald and Kairi magically erected.

It was raining.

The group found a nearby river and Kairi, Donald and Goofy helped Merida built a shelter for the night from whatever wood they could find. With teamwork, they completed the shelter before the rain could get any heavier.

'Whew.' Merida said with relief as they placed the last log in place. 'We'll sort all this out tomorrow.'

Elinor climbed into the shelter and lay down to sleep, her back on the group. Merida and Kairi looked at each other while Donald and Goofy also lay on the ground, fast asleep. Kairi and Merida sat on the ground, hugging their legs to get more warmth against the rain. Once they were certain Elinor, Donald and Goofy were sleeping; Merida spoke first.

'You were right.'

Kairi looked up curiously at Merida.

'I was being selfish.' Merida muttered. 'I only care about changing my fate that I didn't think of the consequences. Now my mom is a bear and we're stuck here, not knowing what to do next!'

Kairi nudged closer to Merida. 'It's not your fault. You were just… Frustrated and angry that your mom was forcing you to marry someone you don't know. People do stupid things when they get upset. And I'm sorry that I argued with you.'

Merida nodded and continued on, 'When I was wee younger, I used to be afraid of lightning storms. Me mum will be always there for me. Hugging me, singing songs to me, protecting me at any danger.' Merida looked at Kairi, fear in her eyes. 'I don't want to lose that part of mum!'

Kairi pulled Merida closed to her and embraced her as Merida sobbed quietly on her shoulders. The rain continued to pound the ground relentlessly.

Morning came as Kairi yawned and stretched widely as the sunlight hit her face. Besides her, Merida also woke up and behind her; Donald and Goofy were still snoring loudly. Merida stretched and yawned and smacked her lips, trying to open her eyes. She looked around the shelter.

'Hello?' Merida asked. 'Where's mom?'

Kairi pointed and they saw Elinor laying breakfast on a man-made table. How a bear did it remained a mystery. Kairi and Merida walked up towards the table.

'Uh…' Merida tried to make sense of it. 'Good morning. So, what's all this then?'

Elinor growled in greeting and continued growling at Merida, trying to communicate.

Merida rolled her eyes. 'I don't speak bear, mom.'

'Why don't we wake up our translator?' Kairi giggled as she gestured towards the sleeping Goofy.'

Frustrated, Elinor mimed with her paws: indicating the bow and arrows on the table. Merida understood.

'Oh!' she removed the bow and arrows off the table and Elinor sat down. She growled at Kairi and gestured towards Donald and Goofy with her head.

'They're fine.' Kairi smiled. 'Donald and Goofy sometimes sleep in.'

Satisfied, Elinor started eating the berries that was on a wooden plate. Merida took a good look at it, plucked one out from the branch and inspected it closely.

'Find those at the creek, did you?' Merida asked and Elinor nodded before eating another berry. 'They're Nightshade berries.' Elinor continued eating the berries, not comprehending Merida's point. 'They're poisonous.'

That got a reaction. Elinor panicky spat out the Nightshade berries, grabbed a wooden cup and downed the water: hopefully to wash out the poison. Kairi looked into one of the cups and squirmed.

'Where did you get the water from? They have worms in them!'

At hearing those words, Elinor spat out the water she was drinking. She sat down heavily, defeated. Merida smiled as she stood up.

'Come on.' She then turned to Kairi. 'You better wake those two up. They had enough beauty rest as it is.'

Kairi nodded and ran to wake Donald and Goofy up. 'Come on guys, it's time to wake up.'

She shook them gently until Donald and Goofy opened their eyes and yawned loudly.

'Is breakfast ready?' Goofy asked as he smacked his lips.

'Afraid not.' Kairi admitted. 'We're going to work for it.'

Kairi led Donald and Goofy to the creek where Merida and Elinor were. Merida had her bow and arrows with her. She stretched the bow backwards and released multiple arrows; impaling the fish to the bottom of the river. She smiled and pulled them up.

'Breakfast!'

Elinor clapped her paws and Merida looked at her, teasingly. 'Oh, wait! A princess should not have weapons, in your opinion.'

Elinor just nodded as Merida hold the fish to her. 'There you go. Go on.'

The fish was still alive and flapping its tail. Elinor turned away in disgust.

'How do you know you don't like it if you won't try it?' Merida asked. Another shake of her head from her mother, Merida gave in. 'Kairi, can you cook this fish for her royal highness?'

'Sure.' Kairi said as she took the fish. She, Donald and Goofy quickly built a small campfire. Donald ignited with a fire spell and Kairi speared the fish with a strong branch. She roasted the fish for a while and put it on the plate in front of Elinor.

'Enjoy your breakfast your majesty.' Kairi smiled, giving a small curtsey.

At first, Elinor tried to eat the fish befitting a royal queen but hunger got the better of her. She grabbed the fish in both paws and devoured it with gusto. Elinor looked at Kairi and Merida and pointed at her stomach, telling them she was still hungry. Merida laughed.

'Come on mom, I'll teach you how to catch fish!'

For another hour or so, Merida taught Elinor how to catch fish like a bear while Kairi, Donald and Goofy had their own breakfast. After Elinor had her fill, she started splashing water on Merida.

'Mom!' Merida squealed as she also splash back. Kairi, Donald and Goofy finished their breakfast and Kairi jumped onto her feet.

'Come on guys!' she laughed as she joined Merida and Elinor.

Donald hurried after Kairi while Goofy sat down, rubbing his stomach. 'Isn't it a bad idea to play on a full stomach?'

'Goofy!'

'Coming!' Goofy stood up and jogged towards the creek. All of them had fun, splashing water at each other and bonding together. After they all were drenched, Elinor suddenly walked away.

'Mom?' Merida shouted. 'Come back!'

Merida, Kairi, Donald and Goofy ran after her and Elinor turned around to face them. They stopped in their tracks as they noticed that there was no humanity inside Elinor's black eyes. Elinor eyed them with an alien's view, not recognising them.

'Mom?' Merida asked uncertainly. 'Is that you?'

'I don't think she understood that, Merida.' Kairi whispered.

Elinor stood on its rear legs and raised its paws to strike. Kairi and Goofy immediately jumped in front of the group, with weapons out, to defend against Elinor. Before Elinor could strike, she stopped and fell onto her fours: her humanity returned and recognizing the group. Merida approached her.

'Mom? You changed!' she gasped. 'Like you were a… I mean, like you were a bear on the inside!'

'I thought the transformation will only occur on the second day at sunset?' Kairi asked Donald.

Donald looked uncomfortably. 'Well, some spells may be stronger or it's slowly taking effects. Also, some factors can accelerate the spell: such as… Fear or other human emotions.'

'Then we better changed her back as soon as possible!' Goofy chimed.

'But how?' Merida asked, desperate.

Just then, Elinor walked away; this time it was a floating blue cloud.

'A wisp!' Kairi pointed it out.

Elinor jumped on it and tried to catch it but it soon disappeared. More wisps appeared, creating a trail. The group followed the wisps and they past through the woods once again. They finally reached a ruin of a castle, lodging on top of the hill. Once, it may have been bigger and more majestic than Dunbroch but over the years, it had lost its former glory. As the group got closer to the castle, they could see a symbol of crossed axes between a few inches.

'Why did the wisps bring us here?' Merida asked aloud.

'Maybe they're trying to show you how to cure your mom?' Kairi suggested.

They continued to explore around the castle until they got what was the second floor of the castle.

'Whoever lives here', Merida mused. 'They've been gone for a long time… AAAAHHHHH!'

The platform that Merida was standing on weakened and collapsed under her. Before anyone could grab her hands, Merida fell into the castle. Elinor gave a worried roar and was about to jump into the hole when they heard Merida's voice.

'I'm fine, mom! Fine!'

Kairi summoned Destiny Embrace and looked at the others. 'You guys stay here with Elinor. I'll go down just in case.'

Before Donald or Goofy could stop her, Kairi jumped down the hole and landed just next to Merida: giving her a fright.

'Oh Nessie!' Merida gasped. 'What if you killed me?'

Kairi smiled. 'Surely someone as light as me won't be able to kill the daughter of the Bear King.'

'Just because I'm related to him doesn't make me invincible.' Merida scowled as she looked around the castle's halls. 'It's a… Throne Room! Do you suppose this could have been the kingdom in that story you were telling me? The one with the princes?'

'What story?' Kairi asked curiously.

'It was a story that me mum told me when I learnt I was being presented to my suitors. She told me that a king who had four sons ruled this castle. When he died, he left his lands to the four princes: each prince given their own piece of land. With each princes acting as pillars, their kingdom will remain strong and prosperous. However, the eldest prince was greedy and wanted to rule the entire kingdom by himself. Soon, war, chaos and ruins befell the kingdom and looks like it turned into rubble.'

Kairi shook her head sadly. 'Human's greed, it's the same in almost every… Merida, look!'

Kairi pointed at four stone statues of humans. They were alike except for the last one who was taller and was wearing facial hair than the first three statues. According to the carvings, they wore majestic outfits and small crowns; marking them as royalty. Three of the statues were stuck together but the last one was split by a massive crack, separating the tallest statue from the other smaller ones. Merida studied it closely and counted.

'One, two, three… four! The oldest!' Merida gasped in recognition. 'Like… Like the tapestry! The spell! It's happened before!'

Kairi eyes caught sight of the castle's symbol again and something rekindled in her memory. 'Wait a minute! That symbol is similar to the one that was printed on that coin that witch showed us!'

Merida nodded and repeated the witch's words. 'The strength of ten men. Fate be changed. Changed with fate.'

'But that means…' Kairi making two and two together.

'That the oldest prince became…' Before Merida could finish her statement, both girls heard a dark growl behind them. They whirled around and saw a massive bear with matted fur and for some reason, wearing shoulders armor made for humans. One eye was scarred while the alive one was filled with hatred. Its muzzle was filled with sharpened teeth and drool spilling from the mouth: the bear in a rabid state.

'Mor' du!' Merida finished as she jumped backwards and pulled out her bow. Kairi stepped in and deflected Mor' Du sharpened claws. Kairi barely holding out by herself and sooner or later, Mor' Du will break her defense. Merida released more arrows onto Mor' Du's back, who roared in pain. Kairi slashed it muzzle with Destiny Embrace, merely leaving a small cut just above the nose.

Mor' Du rose on its rear legs and roared loudly, slamming its paws into the ground. The slam was powerful enough to send Kairi off her feet and she landed painfully on her back. When she looked up, she was horrified that Mor' Du was towering above her: ready to bring its claws down to swipe Kairi's head off.

'Kairi!' Merida screamed and shot more arrows onto Mor' Du's back. Mor' Du roared in pain and turned its attention to Merida, Kairi completely forgotten. Mor' Du charged towards Merida who tried to get as much distance away from Mor' Du but the demon bear was always behind Merida.

Elinor, who saw everything, poked her paws through the hole and roaring: indicating Merida to grabbed her paw. Donald and Goofy were shouting encouragement as well. Merida quickened herself and jumped into the air. Mor' Du swung his right paw to stop her…

… Only to be shot by a ray of light and slammed into the wall. Kairi, who was still on her back, managed to point Destiny Embrace at Mor' Du and before it could kill Merida, Kairi shot an arrow of light into him. Merida caught Elinor's paw and pulled her out of the castle. Donald and Goofy appeared at the hole.

'Come on Kairi!' Donald cried. 'Get out of there!'

Kairi nodded but before she could get onto her fours, the throne room started collapsing. Kairi looked at where Mor' Du slammed into the wall: there was a massive crack that reached up the ceiling. Now stones were falling and the castle was crumbling. Kairi looked up at her two friends.

'Donald, Goofy, get out of here!'

'No!' Donald shouted. 'We're not leaving you!'

'It's too late!' Kairi cried. 'If you guys stay, then we all be buried here alive! Don't worry! I will find a way back! I promise!'

'Kairi…'

Donald's sentence was cut short as rocks now blocked the hole. More rocks fell and a pillar was falling onto Kairi. Kairi closed her eyes and whispered two words as the pillar slammed into her and more rocks covered her body.

'NOOOOOO!' Donald quacked as Kairi's body was covered in rocks. He wanted to go in there but he was pulled away by Merida.

'Come!' Merida said urgently. 'We better get out of here before we become Mor' Du's dinner!'

'We can't abandoned Kairi!' Donald shouted as Goofy helped Merida to pull Donald from the castle and into the forest.

Merida shook her head. 'We're not abandoning her. Once we're certain that Mor' Du is no longer there, we will search for her.' She gulped before she completed her sentence. 'Dead or alive.'

Kairi opened her eyes and darkness greeted her. She pushed her hands upward, pushing off rocks and dust away from her. With what light was left in the throne room, Kairi stood up: wearing the Dragon Armor that was gifted to her by the guardians of Dragon's Belly Cave in the Land of the Dragons.

Kairi looked around the throne room and when she was certain that Mor' Du was gone: she clicked her fingers. The Dragon Armor vanished as Kairi summoned Destiny Embrace. The key-blade lighted up and shone in the throne room. Kairi narrowed her eyes to find another way to escape. Finally, she spotted a tunnel that led deeper into the castle.

Having no alternative, Kairi walked down the tunnel. She had only been walking for a short while when she found a room strangely intact despite the castle's collapse. Kairi carefully looked inside the room to make sure that there were no nasty surprises waiting for her. Certain there were none, Kairi stepped in: only to be surprised.

In the middle of the room was a blade stuck into the floor. The blade was iron-grey coming out from an iron bear's mouth. The handles were similar to that of a key-blade. Already surprised that there was a key-blade cemented into the floor, Kairi's surprise mounted as she spotted a blue dinosaur with orange stripes on its back: crouching before the key-blade.

'Krocken?' Kairi gasped.

Krocken raised his head over his shoulders and smiled. 'Oh good.' He said in his usual dryness. 'You survive the fight. It was a good thing that my cousins gave you the Dragon Armor. For once, you're putting it to good use.'

'I barely know you for your caring sides but thanks.' Kairi walked forward until she too was next to Krocken. 'Is Mor' Du dead?'

Krocken shook his reptilian head. 'No. Over the years, the darkness collected inside of him like moths attracted to a lamp. He became even more powerful and menacing than that meddling witch ever anticipated. I doubt throwing rocks at him will kill him or', he smiled: back to his sarcastic-self again. 'That pathetic arrow of light you shot at him with. However, Mor' Du is long gone and he is roaming the forest once again.'

Kairi glowered at Krocken's insult but said nothing. She changed the subject. 'What are you doing here and whose key-blade does that belong to?'

Krocken sighed, genuinely sad this time. 'That, my dear girl, belongs to a key-blade wielder like you. Red-hair, freckles, absent-minded, strong, determined, rebellious… Well, the list is long so I'll skip to the main point. She's the bravest and trustworthy girl this world had ever seen. The Light blessed her and she was given a key-blade to help her defend her home against the Heartless and other menace. Among the other key-blade wielders, who I considered pompous idiots, she was one of the few people who makes me smile and forget the terrible things I had done in my past.'

'You?' Kairi asked in disbelief. 'Smiling and happy?'

Krocken smiled at the memory. 'She also made the best apple cider in the country.' He smacked his lips as if drinking the alcohol. 'An idiot but a friend nonetheless.'

'What happened?' Kairi asked gently.

Krocken sighed. 'Ten years ago, she was making her apple cider while I was just basking in the hot sun in one of those summer days. Suddenly, there was a disturbance in the forest. Without hesitating, Mariana summoned her key-blade and charged into the forest. I was just behind her and to my horror, her lifeless body was flung backwards and she just lay in front of me: her eyes lifeless and her face with surprise on it. Then a demonic roar resounded throughout the forests before that beast retreated deeper into the forest.'

'I'm so sorry.' Kairi said.

Krocken nodded and continued. 'After burying her at her favorite spot, I buried her key-blade, Bear Princess, here. Ten years had passed and I'm not too sure, which is worst: losing a girl who you consider a friend or not drinking the best apple cider anymore.'

They stood there in silence for quite a long time before Krocken broke the silence. 'I guess you can take Bear Princess if you want.'

Kairi looked at Krocken, not hearing properly. Once the words settled in her head, she asked. 'Wouldn't it be disrespectful to the dead?'

Instead of being sarcastic, Krocken said seriously. 'Mariana may be dead but Bear Princess yearned for revenge for her master's death. For ten years she waited for someone worthy to wield her. Maybe that someone is you. Plus', he gave a reptilian sneer. 'I think it's about time you get a stronger key-blade instead of always relying on that flowery one of yours.'

'Hey!' Kairi could not take it anymore. 'This "flowery" key-blade defeated many Heartless and helped me pass the tests the Guardians set me!' She breathed heavily to calm herself down. 'Is it really okay if I carry Bear Princess around?'

Krocken dipped his head. 'If you're worthy.'

Kairi looked at Bear Princess and at Krocken before coming to a decision. She strode forward until she was standing right in front of the key-blade. As a Princess of Heart, Kairi could sense the dormant powers of the key-blade. She reached and closed her right fist around the handle. She closed her eyes and mustering as much strength as she could, she pulled.

Bear Princess easily slid out of the ground, making Kairi stumbled backwards. She stabled herself and was surprise at Bear Princess' changes. The handle was now golden with bear fur covering the top and the iron bear head turned to gold. The blade turned from grey to white and at the tip of the key-blade was a double-sided key's tip: the standard feature of all key-blades.

Kairi marveled at it as Bear Princess returned to its former glory. Kairi could sense the elegance and sophistication befitting a princess but at the same time had the strength of ten men. Kairi swung it with ease: it was light. Kairi pointed the blade towards the ground and struck: creating a massive crack between her legs.

'Cool!' Kairi said. Impressed that a weapon with a gentle name can inflict so much damage.

'Well.' Krocken said as he stood up. 'Before you kill us both, I'm going now.'

Kairi stopped marveling the key-blade and turned to Krocken. 'You're leaving?'

Krocken shrugged. 'Well I'm done here: I paid my respect to the dead and I've given you a new weapon. Now you have a chance against Mor' Du and even the Horned King. I'll see you soon. Good luck.'

With that said, Krocken left the room and before Kairi could stop him, he vanished.

'Unbelievable!' Kairi fumed as Bear Princess disappeared in her hands. 'He could at least show me the way out!'

No sooner had she uttered the words, light hit her and she shielded her eyes. She looked through the gaps between her fingers and to her surprise; there was light at the end of the tunnel.

'Either I'm lucky or this is Krocken's doing.' Kairi muttered and then smiled. 'Thanks, Krocken.'

With a smile of hope, Kairi walked towards the light and she soon found herself back in the woods: the castle's ruins not far where she was standing.


	10. Brave

'Ohhhhhhhhhhh!' Donald cried as he, Goofy, Merida and Elinor were standing at the edge of the forest: keeping an out for Mor' Du if he left his lair so that they can continue their search for Kairi. 'Nnnnoooooo!'

Goofy placed his hands on Donald's shoulders. 'There, there, Donald. I'm sure that Kairi is all right…'

'How do I tell this to Sora?' Donald moaned, ignoring Goofy's comforting words. 'How can I ever face him again?'

'I don't know whose this Sora person.' Merida tried. 'But I'm sure Kairi I all right. That lass is quite tough.'

'Why did we fight?' Donald cried again. 'I should have let her do her own thing and not butt into it!' This time Goofy and Merida had no words of comfort to use. 'I swear I will never argue with Kairi again just to see her alive again!'

'I'm sorry too, Donald. I should had never fought with you.'

Everybody turned around in surprise and to their relief and joy, Kairi was stepping out from the bushes. Donald stared at her: making sure that she was not a ghost or a hallucination. Then with tears in his eyes, he flung himself on Kairi, who caught him easily, and hugged her tight: sobbing on her shoulders. Kairi smiled and gently patted Donald on his back. Donald raised his head.

'Oh Kairi, can you forgive me for arguing with you? You're right, I have no business in telling you what to do or not.'

Kairi put Donald down and knelt until she was eye level with him. 'No Donald, it should be I who should be apologizing to you. You were only telling me to be more responsible and I should have listened. Instead, I snapped at you and kept arguing with you. For that, I'm sorry.' She put her hand forward. 'Friends?'

Donald wiped his eye and shook hands with Kairi. 'Friends.'

Goofy joined and hugged both of them in a group hug. 'A-yuk! Now we're back together again!'

'Goofy!' Kairi laughed. 'Too… Tight!' Kairi let out breath of relief as Goofy broke the hug: only to gasp out loud as Merida rushed in and embraced.

'Oh Nessie!' Merida said as she bear hugged Kairi. 'I thought you were a goner after those rocks fell upon you and you alone with Mor' Du! I was worried!'

'Merida!' Kairi breathed. 'Not… You… Too…'

Merida quickly let go of Kairi who rubbed her sore ribs. 'Sorry about that, lass, I sometimes forget me own strengths but my Scathach, how did you survive?'

Kairi smiled and napped her fingers: the Dragon Armour covering her entire body. Merida's eyes widened with surprise and amazement.

'Where in Loch Ness did you get that?'

Kairi snapped her fingers again and the Dragon Armour disappeared. 'Some friends gave it to me. One of them just appeared just now and gave me a new weapon.' She then conjured Bear Princess and showed it to Merida. Merida, Donald and Goofy whistled at Kairi's new weapon.

Merida giggled. 'Finally, it's about time you get something with more metal than that flowery weapon of yours. You got to introduce me to this friend of yours. I could do with some new equipment.'

Kairi smiled as Bear Princess faded from her hands before she became serious. 'What now? Do we go after Mor' Du?'

Merida shook her head. 'No, Mor' Du isn't important right now. We must head back to the castle! If we don't hurry, mom will be become like Mor' Du: a real bear! Forever! Mend the bond torn by pride! The witch gave us the answer! It's the tapestry!'

Goofy scratched his head. 'What's a tapestry?'

'Never mind that now!' Merida said urgently as she beckoned Elinor to follow her. 'We have to get back to the castle now!'

'Right!' Kairi agreed.

Elinor growled as she lowered her back: indicating that everybody should climbed onto her.

Merida placed her hand gently on her mother's back. 'Are you sure you can carry all of us mom?'

Elinor growled again: indicating that it was possible. Merida climbed onto Elinor's back and sat on her: followed by Kairi, Donald and Goofy. Making sure everybody was secured, Elinor charged off as if dogs were chasing after her.

'We're back!' Merida said as Elinor stopped in front of the gates of Dunbroch. It was already night as the party returned to Dunbroch. The gates were undermanned and torches lighted up both the cities and the castle. Merida, Kairi, Donald and Goofy got off Elinor as they cautiously entered the castle ground: encountering no one.

'That's odd.' Merida whispered as the group made their way to the castle. 'There are no guards on duty.'

'Maybe Fergus is telling more of his stories.' Goofy suggested.

'They will still be guards posted.' Merida pointed out as they reached the door to the kitchen. 'No, something is up.'

As soon as they closed the door, they heard uproar in the dining hall: more like a battle din.

'I think that's answer our question.' Kairi said, as the group got closer and peeked inside of the dining hall. Inside the hall, each lord, including Fergus, were barricaded behind a massive table on each side of the hall as they fired arrows and shouting at each other.

'NO MORE TALK, NO MORE TRADITIONS, WE SETTLE THIS NOW!'

'YOU'RE THE KING! YOU DECIDE WHICH ONE OF OUR SONS YOUR DAUGHTER WILL MARRY!'

'NONE OF YOUR SONS ARE FIT TO MARRY MY DAUGHTER!' Fergus roared.

'THEN OUR ALIANCE IS OVER!'

'THIS MEANS WAR!'

'I'M GOING TO MURDER EACH AND EVERYONE OF YA!'

Merida looked at her friends in panic and then turned to Elinor. 'We got to stop them before it's too late!'

Kairi looked at Elinor and then back at Merida. 'Erm… Merida, your mom's a bear.'

Merida cursed herself. 'I know! I know!'

'I can be the translator!' Goody offered. Donald face palmed.

Merida took a deep breath. 'Donald, Goofy, take my mom to the tapestry room and make sure that no one notice you.'

Donald and Goofy nodded. Kairi looked at Merida. 'What about you?'

Merida signed, resigned but determined. 'What a princess must do.'

With that being said, Merida marched into the hall and into the battlefield. Alarmed, Kairi followed in after her: pulling out Destiny Embrace. Kairi ran ahead of Merida and raised her key-blade: filling the room with blinding light. Once the light abated, all the warriors, except Merida and Kairi, were rubbing their eyes and trying to adjust to their vision. Once their visions were stabilised, they all saw Merida standing in the middle of the hall with Kairi next to her. Fergus was the first one to recover first.

'What're you doing, lass?'

'It's all right, dad.' Merida assured her father before addressing the other lords. 'I have been in conference with the queen.'

'Is that so?' Lord Dingwall huffed as the other two lords approached Merida.

'Aye it is.'

'Where is she then?' Lord Macintosh asked.

'She…'

'How do we know this isn't some trick?' Lord MacGuffin asked suspiciously.

Merida was offended. 'I'd never…'

'This is highly irregular!' Macintosh began.

'What are you playing at? Where is the queen?'

'We'll not stand for anymore of this chigerry pie!'

'That's right! Let's see her!'

'SHUT IT!'

All the lords were stunned at Merida's manner. Merida took deep, calming breath before continuing on. 'Once, there was an ancient kingdom which soon fell into war and then to chaos and ruins.'

The lords looked at each other before Dingwall scoffed at Merida. 'We all heard that fairy tale about a lost kingdom. It just legend.'

'What Merida says is true.' Kairi joined in. 'And legends are lessons. You lords are repeating history by declaring war on each other which will leave not only Dunbroch but all of your kingdoms in ruins.'

'How so?' MacGuffin asked.

'Our kingdom is young.' Merida continued. 'Our stories are not yet legends but in them are bonds we struck. Our clans were once enemies but when invaders threatened us from the sea, you joined together to defend our lands. You fought for each other and risked everything for each other. Lord MacGuffin, my dad saved your life by stopping an arrow as you ran for Dingwall's aid.'

MacGuffin smiled. 'Aye, and I'll never forget it.'

'And Lord Macintosh', Merida addressed Macintosh. 'You saved my dad when you charged in on heavy horses and held off the advance. And we all know how Lord Dingwall broke the lines…'

'With a mighty throw of a spear!' Dingwall proudly announced.

'The story of this kingdom is a powerful one.' Merida continued on. 'My dad rallied your forces and you made him king. It was an alliance forged in bravery and friendship and it lives to this day but I've been selfish.' Merida admitted. 'I have tore a great rift in our kingdom and there's no one to blame but me. I know now that needs to mend my mistake and mend our bond. And so there is the matter of my betrothal. I've decided to do what's right.'

All three lords looked at Merida, impatiently expecting her answer.

'And…' Merida was struggling for words. 'And… Break… Traditions… My mother… The queen feels… In her heart, that I… That we be free to… Write our own story.' Kairi looked over the lords' shoulders and noticed that Elinor, Donald and Goofy were on the staircase but Elinor posing as a stuffed bear. Despite not having human's speech, Elinor was miming out actions and Merida was following what her mother wanted her to say. 'Follow… Our… Hearts and find love in our own time.'

As Merida finished, most of the warriors were crying softly. Dingwall wiped a tear from his eyes. 'Beautiful.'

'The queen and I put the decision to you my lords. Might our young people decide for themselves who they will love?'

The lords looked at each other before Macintosh erupted. 'Well, since you obviously made up your mind about this, I have one thing to say. This is…'

'A grand idea!' Young Macintosh interrupted.

His father looked at him in surprise. 'What?'

'Aye!' Wee Dingwall announced. 'Why shouldn't we choose?'

'But she's the princess!' Lord Dingwall argued.

'I didn't pick her out.' Wee Dingwall pointed out. 'It was your idea.'

MacGuffin turned to his son. 'And you, do you feel the same?'

Young MacGuffin spoke, although not comprehensible, it was clear that he agreed with Merida.

'Well, that's it.' MacGuffin nodded. 'Let these lads try to win the princess' heart before winning her hand, if they can.'

'I say Wee Dingwall has a fighting chance!' Lord Dingwall declared as her patted his son on his back, making him stumbled forward.

'Fine then!' Lord Macintosh said as he placed a hand on his son's shoulders. 'Seems for once we all agree! It was my idea in the first place!' He thumped his chest as he smiled smugly.

Kairi rolled her eyes as Fergus scooped her daughter into a hug. 'Just like your mum, you devil!'

Merida smiled and then her face became alarmed. Kairi looked at where Merida was gazing at and to her horror, a guard was looking at Elinor was pretending to be one of Fergus' stuffed bears while Donald and Goofy were trying to push the guards away.

'When did this one come from?' the guard asked.

'Erm…' Donald tried to think of something. 'It's just came this morning!'

'Through air mail!' Goofy added, earning a glare from Donald.

'But I don't remember anyone delivering another bear into the castle.' The guard said suspiciously.

Better help them out. Kairi thought and then she announced. 'With all that out of the way, let's celebrate the reunification of the clans!'

'Aye!' Merida followed up with Kairi. 'Everyone! To the cellars! Let's crack open the king's private reserves to celebrate!'

Fergus looked surprised as everybody cheered loudly and hurried towards the cellars, including the guard who shrugged and left Elinor alone.

'Woah! Woah! Woah!' Fergus yelled but being ignored, he shrugged and whispered to one of the servants. 'Bring them tiny glasses.'

The dining hall was emptied and all who were left were Merida, Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Elinor. Donald and Goofy sighed with relief as Merida and Kairi happily did a small dance: Elinor joining in them. Donald and Goofy also joined in and all them collapsed onto the floor: laughing heartily.

Kairi stopped laughing and beamed at Merida. 'Well, looks like you can choose to marry anyone now.'

'Aye!' Merida beamed back but her smile faded. 'The Tapestry!'

Everybody quickly got up onto his or her feet and head upstairs. They reached the tapestry room with Donald and Goofy closing the door behind them. Inside the room, they found Elinor's tapestry of Merida between Elinor and Fergus holding hands: a tear between Elinor and Merida.

'It's just like the statues in the ruins.' Kairi commented as she saw the rift that Merida created.

'Aye.' Merida agreed as she looked around. 'Mend the bond! Mend the bond! Stitched up! This will change you back, we just need needle and thread!'

'I'll get it.' Kairi said and searched a nearby basket. She carefully pulled out a sewing needle. 'Found it!'

'Erm… Merida?' Donald said worriedly. 'I think there's something wrong with your mom.'

Merida and Kairi now noticed that Elinor was acting feral and was growling: her voice deeper. Merida looked at her in horror.

'Mom! Mom, not now! No! Please, not now! Mom!'

'She's turning back into a bear again!' Kairi shouted as she stood protectively next to Merida.

Elinor growled louder and made her way towards the two girls. Donald and Goofy brought out their weapons but they were thrown aside when the door burst opened and Fergus stood at the doorway: frantic.

'Elinor! Lass! Where are… What the…' he can only said when he saw Elinor as a bear in her feral state. Elinor roared and Fergus replied with his own war cry and pulled out his sword from the scabbard.

'Merida!' Fergus cried as he rushed in.

'Dad, no! It's not what you think!' Merida shouted but Fergus ignored her and struck Elinor with his blade.

'No!' she shouted as Fergus slashed his sword in the air, keeping Elinor at a distance. Merida put herself between Fergus and Elinor and tried to stop Fergus from attacking Elinor but Elinor not being herself, slashed Merida on her left arm with her claws. Elinor was on her hind legs, ready to knocked her daughter's head off but Kairi speared Merida out of Elinor's reach.

'Merida! No!' Fergus shouted as he attacked Elinor with his sword. Kairi helped Merida up onto her feet who watched in horror.

'No!'

Elinor knocked Fergus off his feet and was about to attack Merida and Kairi again when suddenly, Elinor stopped and her eyes turned from feral to human. Elinor's eyes caught the scratch on Merida's left arm and realised it was her doing, she felt ashamed at what she had done.

'It's all right!' Merida tried to assured her. 'It's all right! It's nothing! It's just a scratch!'

Elinor, unable to bear to harm her daughter or any of her loved ones, she ran from the room: knocking Donald and Goofy out of the way as she dashed through the corridors. From the shouting from outside the Tapestry room, means that the other lords discovered Elinor in her bear form.

'Mom!' Merida but Elinor was already running away from the lords. Then she turned to Fergus who was slowly standing up. 'Dad!'

Fergus quickly got up and grabbed hold of Merida. 'Oh, count your stars, lass! It almost had you! Are you hurt?'

'Dad', Merida started. 'It's your wife, Elinor!'

Fergus looked at Merida as if she was mad. 'You're talking nonsense!'

'It's true!' Kairi stepped in. 'A witch's spell turned your wife into a bear and she only got until sunrise before she becomes a bear forever!'

'It's not Mor' Du!' Merida added.

'Mor' Du or not, I'll avenge your mother!' Fergus dismissed both his daughter and Kairi. 'I'll not risk losing you!'

'No, dad!' Merida cried desperately. 'It's your wife, Elinor!'

Fergus did not listen as he slammed the door behind him and locked it: going after Elinor. Merida tried to open the door but when she found it locked, she tearfully turned to Kairi.

'What are we going to do?' she cried. 'If we don't get out, they gonna kill mom!'

'First thing first.' Kairi said calmly. 'Let's stitched back that tapestry before getting out.'

Merida wanted to protest but knowing that arguing more will waste valuable time, she and Kairi quickly grabbed a needle and thread and started repairing the tapestry Merida had damaged: Merida starting from the top and Kairi starting from the bottom. With their combined efforts, the tapestry was like it was.

Merida admired her work. 'I must admit that those embroidery classes certainly paid off.' Then she became serious. 'Now how do we get out of here?'

'Stand back.' Kairi told Merida as she took out Destiny Embrace and pointed it at the door's keyhole. An arrow of light shot out of Destiny Embrace and they heard a click from the door. Unbelieving, Merida walked towards the door and pushed down the handle: finding it opened. Merida looked at Kairi with awe and surprise.

'How in…'

Kairi smiled and hold up Destiny Embrace. 'Special powers, before we forget...' She pointed Destiny Embrace at Merida wound.

'Curaga.'

To Merida's amazement, her wound glowed and her skin grew back until the scratch caused my Elinor was no more. Destiny Embrace faded from Kairi's hands.

'We better get going.'

Merida nodded and opened the door: only to find a plump woman in a green dress with a white bonnet in their way. Maudie, nursemaid of Harris, Hubert and Hamish, stood there with the key in her hands: looking shock at the group.

'How did you…'

'Let's us through, Maudie!' Merida begged. 'Please!'

Maudie, however, steeled herself. 'Your father instructed me to not let you leave this room. It's for your own safety, Merida.'

'Maudie, please!' Merida begged. 'I must reached dad before he kills that bear!'

Maudie shook her head. 'Absolutely not! You're to stay here until your father returns…'

'A-hyuk!' Goofy suddenly spoke. 'Look at those cute little bear cubs!'

Maudie stood still as if she was frozen as she and the others could hear soft growling. Just as Goody said, there were three brown bear cubs standing behind Maudie. Maudie slowly turned around and stepped back away from the cubs, who were looking at her with those hazel-brown eyes.

'Where did those three come from?' Kairi whispered to Merida who gasped in recognition.

'Those are the triplets! They must had eaten the cake!'

'I must say they do look cute and cuddly as cubs.' Donald commented.

'Enough of that!' Merida snapped and turned her attention to the startled Maudie who was trying not to panic at the sight of three bear cubs. 'Have at her, boys.'

Hamish, Hubert and Harris, in their bear forms, made faces at Maudie, who screamed hysterically and ran off through the corridors: the triplets chasing after her. Goofy stepped forward, cupped his hand to his mouth and shouted.

'THEY JUST WANT CANDY!'

'Come on Goofy!' Donald grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him along as Kairi and Merida bolted down the castle's stairs until they reached the stables. With embroidery in her hands and bow unstrung on her back, Merida jumped on Angus while Kairi, Donald and Goody mounted a white stallion. They kneed their horses in the sides and rode out of Dunbroch into the dark forest. They continued riding in the dark, fearing nothing, as they have to find Elinor before Fergus got to her. Seeing light in the middle of the forest, Kairi and Merida rode faster. Finally they found all the warriors and Fergus in a circle of rune stones. They were standing in a circle with torches and weapons: holding something big and brown with ropes.

It was Elinor, tied down. Worse, Fergus was approaching her with a drawn sword.

'No!' Merida gasped and urged Angus faster with Kairi, Donald and Goofy following behind her. Once they reached the rune stones circle, Merida jumped off of Angus and fitted an arrow to her bow. Before Fergus can deliver the killing blow, Merida knocked Fergus' sword with an arrow. As Fergus recovered his sword, Merida stood between him and Elinor: sword in her hand.

'Get back!' Merida growled. 'That's me mother!'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy dismounted and joined the shock crowd as they watched Fergus slowly standing up, facing his daughter.

'Have you lost your mind, lass?'

Hearing a soft growl behind her, Merida asked, 'Mom, are you hurt?'  
Fergus strode forward and pushed Merida to the ground and lifted his sword but before he could bring it down on Elinor, Kairi was in front of him and blocking his sword blow with Bear Princess. Surprised, Fergus tried to push Kairi down but Kairi, with the help of Bear Princess, pushed Fergus back with a sudden push: making the Bear king stumbled backwards in surprise and falling on his bottoms. Kairi took a look at Bear Princess, impressed that she managed to push a man bigger than her down to the ground.

Before Fergus could stand up and continue the fight, three small brown figures jumped on top of Fergus, kicking the wind out of him.

'Boys!' Merida gasped as she realised it was the triplets.

'Boys?' Fergus asked in confusion as he recognised some traits of his sons in the bear cubs.

Before anyone could react to this new development, there was a dark growl from the forest. Goofy looked down at his stomach and announced.

'That was not my stomach!'

Merida looked up at where the growl came from and cried, 'Mor' Du!'

Everybody whirled to where Merida indicated and before them was Mor' Du, standing on its hind legs and roaring angrily. Kairi noticed that a dark aura was surrounding Mor' Du: a sign of a strong dark presence within the former prince.

'Kill it!' Fergus roared and the other lords and warriors heed him. Charging with drawn swords and spears, the warriors yelled their battle cries as they attacked the ferocious beast: only for Mor' Du to knocked them down with its massive paws and sending them down to the ground.

Fergus approached Mor' Du, weapon less but with raised fists. 'Come on, beast! I'll fight you with me bare hands!'

Mor 'Du roared and after dodging several of Mor' Du's strike, Fergus was knocked aside like the rest. Before Mor' Du could bring his wrath on the Bear King, three arrows were lodged onto Mor' Du's back. Mor' Du whipped its head and roared at Merida who was the one who shot the arrows and slashed at her: knocking Merida's bow out of her hands and sending her sprawling to the ground.

Elinor, seeing her daughter in danger, roared and broke free from the ropes that were bounding her. She charged and knocked into Mor' Du. Mor' Du now turned its attention to Elinor and roared. Elinor roared in response and she and Mor' Du grappled: snarling and growling ferociously. Elinor and Mor' Du continued exchanging blows until Mor' Du knocked Elinor into of the obelisks but just as Mor' Du wanted to charge and finish Elinor off, Kairi stood between it and Elinor: Destiny Embrace in her left hand and Bear Princess in her right.

Mor' Du roared violently and slashed but Kairi side tracked his downward paw and slashed Bear Princess into its' face: causing the massive bear to stumble backwards and roaring in pain. Then Mor' Du attempted to knock Kairi away with a backslash but only for Kairi to block its attack and stand her ground: pointing Destiny Embrace at Mor' Du.

'Thundagara!'

Electricity shocked the demon bear, making it screamed in agony and anger. Donald pointed his wand at Mor' Du and also joined in the attack with his own spells while Goofy threw his shield: knocking Mor' Du in the stomach. Mor' Du roared and slammed its paws into the ground, creating a shockwave and almost knocking everyone off the ground. Another three arrows lodged onto his back and Mor' Du's attention was averted back to Merida but as soon as it faced her, Kairi jumped into air and plunged both Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess into Mor' Du's back.

Mor' Du roared in pain, saliva flying out of its' mouth as it went feral at the pain. It stood up on its' hind legs and tried to throw Kairi off it. Merida took this chance and nocked an arrow and fired: piercing Mor' Du in the chest. Mor' Du screamed and whirled around, sending Kairi flying into the air. She skilfully landed next to Merida as Mor' Du fell onto its' back: the arrows lodged onto his back pushed deeper into his massive body. Kairi straiten up and smiled at Merida.

'Nice shot.'

'Thanks.' Merida smiled back. 'And thanks for saving me mum.'

Kairi nodded and her smile fell as Mor' Du was slowly getting onto its' feet. 'He's still up?'

Merida growled and nocked an arrow. 'He is a demon bear so of course he's not going down easily. But we course kill him so he won't cause anymore deaths!'

Kairi nodded and looked up. She noticed something and nudged Merida. 'Merida, look! Your mom is doing something to that obelisk.'

Merida looked up and saw Elinor ramming into one of the obelisk. Merida gasped in understanding. 'She's trying t knock it down and crush Mor' Du under it but Mor' Du is not within its range!'

Kairi nodded. 'Then we have to make it so! Fired an arrow again in its chest when it's standing. I'm going in.'

Merida nodded and shot an arrow and it struck home into Mor' Du's chest when it stood on its hind legs: the searing pain by the arrow causing it to roared in agony and pain. Kairi sprinted towards and slashed Mor' Du in the chest with both Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess. The combined blows from both key-blades caused the demon bear to stumble backwards and at that time, Elinor managed to damaged the base of the obelisk and she cleared out of the way as the obelisk fell down on Mor' Du. There was a loud crash and rumble as Mor' Du gave its final howled and remained silent.

Everybody looked at the carcass of Mor' Du lying under the rubble of the obelisk warily: wondering whether the beast that have been terrorizing their forest for years was truly dead and will rise again. To their astonish, a figure shining with light appeared in front of Mor' Du. The figure have a short black beard, black hair and tanned skin. He was donned in battle armour. Merida and Kairi both realised that it was Mor' Du but in his human form and before he was cursed. Mor' Du turned to Kairi and Merida and smiled at them in thanks before fading into the light.

Once the light faded, all the lords and warriors marvelled at the scene. Merida and Kairi smiled at each other as sunlight hit their face: making Merida panicked.

'The second sunrise!' Merida gasped and rushed towards Angus. She pulled the repaired tapestry off Angus and quickly reached Elinor: throwing the tapestry over Elinor's body. Merida keep looking at Elinor, hoping for some changes but realizing there was none, Merida was devastated.

'Oh no!' I don't understand. I…'

Kairi put a hand on Merida's shoulders to comfort. 'Be patient, Merida. Maybe the spell will take some time to take effect.'

Merida shook her head and kneeled in front of her mother, sobbing uncontrollably.

'Oh mom, I'm sorry!' she sobbed loudly. 'This is all my fault! I did this to you, to us!'

Merida pulled away from Kairi's touch and tearfully hugged Elinor. Everybody was watching the scene with tears in their eyes. Donald and Goofy walked next to Kairi who was holding back her tears.

'You've always been there for me.' Merida continued on sadly. 'You've never given up on me. I just need you back. I want you back, mommy! I love you!'

Merida broke down and cried and those warriors, especially the young suitors, were now crying. Kairi herself allowed her tears to flow down from her eyes as crying can be heard aloud. As the sunlight bathed all over them, Kairi wiped the tears away from her eyes and gasped loudly.

'Merida, your mum…'

Before Merida could look up, somebody touched her on the head: a feeling of a human's hand. Expecting her furry touch and not a human's one, Merida looked up and to her joy, Elinor was looking down at her: back into her human form.

'Mom!' Merida squealed. You're back!'

Elinor hugged Merida tightly and kissed her repeatedly on the forehead. Kairi, happy for Merida and Elinor, covered her mouth in happiness as she turned to Donald and Goofy: pulling them into a group hug. The surrounding warriors, witnessing this magical change of their respected queen, turned their mourns into cheers. Merida's face was buried in Elinor's chest.

'You changed!'

Elinor smiled. 'Oh darling, we both had.'

Elinor kissed Merida on the forehead again and they hugged once again in bliss. Fergus walked towards them and making sure it was his wife, he cried.

'Elinor!'

He ran forward and scooped both his daughter and wife in a hug. With tears of happiness, Fergus grabbed Elinor and kissed her on the lips. Kairi, Donald and Goofy shielded their eyes, giggling. Fergus and Elinor broke the kiss and Elinor looked down.

'Oh dear.'

Kairi saw that the queen was naked and she was only covered in the tapestry Merida threw on her. All the warriors who were all men were looking at the happy reunion. Lord Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dingwall were closing in.

Merida giggled. 'Oh, mom.'

Elinor also giggled. 'Ooohh… Um… dear?'

'Huh?' Fergus said.

'I'm naked.' Elinor whispered. 'Naked as a wee baby.'

Fergus just stood there, staring at her. His reactions brought Elinor back to her usual self.

'Well don't just stare! Do something!'

Fergus brought himself together and turned to the other lords, shielding Elinor with his massive hands. 'Back your eyes, lads! Show some respect!'

The lords made excuses and turned their backs on the queen but as they did, Hamish, Hubert and Harris, human again and naked, ran past them and to their parents and older sister: hugging them. Fergus laughed and picked one of them up.

'Now that's what I call a wee naked baby!'

Everybody joined in the laughter and merriment. Kairi, Donald and Goofy also joined in but were surrounded by Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dingwall: who were taking an interest in Kairi.

'What fighting skills you have, lass!' MacGuffin complimented.

'Such swordsman… I mean swordswoman-ship with those two unusual blades of yours.' Macintosh added.

'You knocked that demon bear off its feet!' Dingwall yelled. 'What clan you belong to, lass?'

'Erm…' Kairi said and remembered the name Goofy told Fergus. 'Clan Squirrel?'

MacGuffin put his hands on his hips and looked at the other two lords. 'Have you lots heard of this Clan Squirrel before?'

'It must be those reclusive clans that lads these days are coming up with.' Macintosh answered.

'Or maybe it's a clan of druids dedicated of protecting the squirrels.' Dingwall suggested.

'Stop talking nonsense, Dingwall!' MacGuffin barked.

'Anyway lass.' Macintosh turned his attention back to Kairi. 'You make a perfect warrior queen for my son! He's quite handy with the sword you know?'

'Yeah…' Donald muttered to Goofy. 'For chopping himself to pieces.' Goofy giggled.

'What are you saying, Macintosh?' MacGuffin boomed. 'It should be my son she be marrying!'

'My son took down a Roman Armada!' Dingwall argued. 'He deserved the hands of this lass here!'

'Come now, Dingwall.' MacGuffin said. 'We all know you're exaggerating about your son's abilities.'

'You might as well say that your son conquered the Loch Ness serpent.' Macintosh smirked.

'You…' Dingwall began but was interrupted by a blinding light coming from behind them. Kairi looked over their shoulders and saw that the tapestry was illuminating with pure light and was surprised to find herself alone in space. Then light shot out from the tapestry and into the sky: making a giant keyhole appeared.

Remembering about how Sora unlock the doors of each worlds, Kairi pointed Destiny's Embrace at the key-hole and shot an arrow of light at it. The light from the key-blade touched the keyhole that glowed stronger until it was blinding. When the light faded, Kairi found herself surrounded by the warriors again. Merida approached her as the lords' attentions were now distracted away from Kairi.

'What's was that about?' Merida asked.

Kairi smiled sadly at her new friend. 'It's time for us to go.'

Merida eyes widened at her statement. 'Will you come back and visit Dunbroch?'

Kairi nodded. 'Definitely. There are other places that we need to go and help other people.'

Merida nodded and pulled Kairi into an embrace. Kairi hugged back. 'Thanks for everything.' Merida murmured. 'Without you guys help, there was no way we ever defeat Mor' Du and restore mom back.'

'I'm glad we're ale to help.' Kairi said as she and Merida broke the hug. 'The bonds between you and your mom have grown stronger after all that.'

'It certainly has.' Merida agreed. 'I cannot change my destiny but I can braved it and with my mom always there for me, I think I can move on. I have learnt my responsibilities as a future queen and my mom have come in terms of what I am.'

Kairi nodded and hugged Merida again. 'I'm happy that you make amends with your mother. We will visit again soon and if you ever need a friend, I will always watch your back.'

'Thanks.' Merida said as they broke the hug. Then she grinned. 'And when you do return, let's have another spar and the next time we fight, I will definitely beat you.'

Kairi grinned. 'I don't think so. I have a new friend, remember?'

'We shall see!'

Both Kairi and Merida snorted with laughter. Kairi was the first one to stop laughing. 'Well, this is farewell. Be strong and never forget who you are.'

'You too.' Merida sincerely said. 'I hope we see each other again.'

Kairi nodded and as she waved her goodbye to Merida, she followed Donald and Goofy away from the group and deep into the forest: searching for the Gummi Ship. The sounds of laughter faded away and Kairi spoke with her two friends.

'Do you think I will see Merida again?' she asked Donald.

Donald nodded. 'Don't be sad, Kairi. You know we can visit her anytime we want.'

'Yeah!' Goofy agreed and he walked into something, falling on his bottoms. He shook his head and looked up. 'A-hyuk! I found the Gummi Ship.'

The Gummi Ship was where they last left it. Feeling pleased that they helped another world, the heroes boarded the Gummi ship and soon, it was rising from the ground and slowly up into the skies: bound ward to another world and to another step closer to Sora.


	11. A Night to Remember

The Gummi ship flew through space as Kairi sat with Bear Princess on her laps, marvelling at the new key-blade she obtained from the previous world, while Donald and Goofy piloted the ship. Then, the scanner started beeping and Bear Princess disappeared from Kairi's hands as she stood up and joined Donald and Goofy.

'Next world?' Kairi asked.

'Yup.' Donald confirmed. 'Beast's Castle, that's where Belle and the Beast lives.'

'I remember those two.' Kairi said. 'I met them at Hollow Bastion and although the Beast looked fierce, he's actually a kind and caring person.'

'A-hyuk!' Goofy agreed. 'He's sure is! I wonder if they manage to break that curse Cogsworth told us about.'

'Let's find out!' Donald said and directed the Gummi ship to the world.

Kairi looked confused. 'Curse?'

'A-hyuk!' Goofy said. 'It's like this: there's a rose in the Beast's…

'And if the Beast could not find love before the last petal fell, he will remained a beast forever.' Goofy concluded.

Kairi wiped a tear from her eyes. 'That was a sad yet romantic story.'

'Here we are.' Donald said as the Gummi ship was landed onto the ground. They got up from their ship and the doors opened, allowing sunlight to come it. Kairi, Donald and Goofy stepped out of the Gummi Ship and when they did, they just stood there and gaped.

'What in…' Donald gaped, not believing his eyes.

The castle that was before them was white with well-painted roofs and sculpted angels sprouting out from the castle's walls and towers. Every windows were framed with beautiful wood or were glass-stained and below them was a flower bed with red roses. The garden was massive with statues made from the whitest marbles and hedges trimmed into shapes of animals. Beautiful flowers sprouted everywhere and the walls were high with golden linings on them. To Kairi, it was every princess's dream castle. To Donald and Goofy, it was something unexpected for a castle they were used to: dark as the blackest night and gargoyles on every walls and towers.

Goofy scratched behind his ears. 'Did they renovate the place or something?'

'Donald, Goofy, is that you?' a voice cried out.

The golden gates opened and a handsome young man with shoulder-length light brown hair and brilliant blue eyes appeared before them. He wore a magnificent coat made from the finest silk with a blue ribbon tied around his neck. He wore a charming smile as he greeted the party.

Donald looked at him. 'Do we know you? I mean you looked familiar but…'

'A-hyuk!' Goofy said. 'Donald, don't you remember him? He is the Beast.'

Donald beaked wide as he stared at the young man, who laughed. 'Indeed I am! But now I'm no longer called Beast but my name is Adam, Prince of this Castle. Welcome back my friends!' He then hugged Donald and Goofy in a hug, who hugged back.

When Adam let them go, he noticed Kairi. 'You must be Kairi that Belle told me about. Welcome to my castle.' Kairi smiled and remembered the medieval traditions, she raised her right hand and Adam took it gently and kissed it. Kairi giggled as Adam stood up again.

'Come in!' Adam beamed as he gestured for Kairi, Donald and Goofy to come in. We're currently preparing for a ball tonight so the insides maybe a bit messy. Belle will be delighted to see you.'

Adam led them through the garden and into the castle where it was even more beautiful than the outside. The marble floors were clean and the white pillars were shining. Red banners and streamers hung over the staircase's rails and along the pillars. Servants continued cleaning the hall and the putting more decorations for tonight's ball.

Just then, a tall skinny man with combed brown hair and long nose approached them: he wore light brown clothing. He gasped as he saw Donald and Goofy.

'Monsieur Donald, Monsieur Goofy! Welcome back!' he cried.

'Hey Lumière.' Goofy greeted with a smile.

Donald looked at his friend. 'How on earth do you know it's him?'

'Lumière.' Adam said as Donald smacked himself in the face. 'Go find Belle. Tell her that Donald, Goofy and Kairi are here.'

'Right away!' Lumière beamed at ran up the stairs to Belle's chambers. Soon, he came back with a young woman with brunet hair tied in a ponytail and fair skin. She wore a white long-sleeve top with a blue skirt attached to it. She squealed when she saw Kairi: running to her and embracing her.

'Kairi!' Belle cried happily. 'It's nice to see you again! It's been too long!'

'You too!' Kairi replied back. 'I'm glad you and Adam are happy together!'

Belle beamed. 'It's only been a month after our marriage and Adam was sweet enough to throw a ball for the people, in appreciation for the bountiful harvest the people worked so hard to produce.'

'It was Belle's idea actually.' Adam said with modesty. 'I was thinking of sending kegs of beer to the village but this ball was a much better idea.'

Belle beamed at Adam but her smile fell when she noticed someone was missing. 'Where's Sora?'

Adam also looked surprise. 'By god! I can't believe I missed him! How come he isn't with you?'

Kairi told them what happened to Sora, about the Horned King and her quest. Belle took Kairi's hands to comfort her. 'You poor dear, it must be hard for you: somebody you loved is taken away from you.'

Kairi nodded sadly.

'Is there something we can do?' Adam asked. 'Sora had helped me in my times of needs so I must repay the favor.'

'We have to find Belle's Crystal of Heart before the Horned King finds it.' Donald answered. 'It can only be found if Belle happens to be in a place that she held very dear to.'

Belle frowned. 'A place I held very dear to… Well, when Adam was still the Beast, I was extremely happy when he asked me dance with him at the ballroom.'

'Until that Xaldin came in and almost ruined everything!' Adam scowled darkly.

Kairi looked at Donald and Goofy. 'Xaldin?'

'He's one of those Organization 13 fellows but we defeated him a long time ago. A-hyuk.' Goofy replied.

'Despite that.' Belle continued. 'We continued to dance and that was the best moment of my life. I think that's the place.'

'Then tonight's is perfect!' Adam said as he held Belle's hands. 'As we dance in the ballroom tonight, it will like that perfect night: just the two of us dancing through the ballroom. It will be magical!'

'Oh Adam!' Belle smiled before turning to Kairi, Donald and Goofy. 'I know that locating this Crystal of Heart is important to you but you must join tonight's festivity. I promise you will enjoy yourself!'

'Well...' Kairi was about to protest but smiled. 'We would love to join.'

'Will there be things to eat?' Goofy asked.

Adam threw his head backwards and laughed. 'As much as you can eat Goofy!'

Belle took hold of Kairi's hands. 'Come, we must find you a dress for tonight.'

Kairi smiled. 'Thank you.'

Kairi followed Belle to her chambers while Adam looked at Donald and Goofy. 'I have Lumière get you some coats for tonight and when he's done with you.' Adam grinned widely. 'You two will be the stars of the ball!'

Night came to the caste as the castle's golden gates were opened as guests, a mixture of nobles and common folks, flowed into the castles or explore the beautiful garden: browsing at the marble statues and admiring the flowers. Inside the castle was filled with activities with guests talking and laughing happily: Adam and Belle greeting their guests at the doorway. In one of the chambers was filled with men drinking mugs of ale provided by the castle: with two burly men overseeing that none of the men cause any trouble under the influence of the alcohol. The ballroom was even more hectic as it was filled with dancers waltzing through the floor or people sitting on cushioned chairs: eating and drinking what the castle's kitchen provided with. Once in a while, servants will popped out from the kitchen with a platter of more finger food and placed them on the buffet table while carrying emptied platters back to the kitchen to be washed, dried and to have delicacies put back again.

Watching the party from a cushioned chair, Kairi sighed as she saw portly nobles drinking champagne with their wives while young men and women were waltzing on the dance floor. Goofy was eating as much as he could from the buffet table: prompting the servants to stock up more food on the table. Donald was trying to get one of the girls to dance with him: ending up in failure.

Kairi looked stunning in the red dress and red slippers that Belle loaned to her. She even has a rose in her hair. She was beautiful and radiant: except for her mood. Several boys from the nearby village approached her and ask to dance with her but Kairi would smile and politely refused: feeling guilty when a boy walked away from her with slumped shoulders. It was not that the boys were unattractive: it was just that with Sora captured by the Horned King, Kairi could not bring herself to dance with anyone else but Sora.

Kairi stared at the dance floor and in her vision, she saw herself dancing with Sora: both of them smiling and laughing. Kairi smiled sadly at the vision, knowing it was a memory in the past but a happy memory nevertheless. She wanted to let the vision continued when somebody stood in front of her.

'Excuse me mademoiselle, may I have this dance?'

Although Kairi was angry that a stranger interrupted her vision, she forced a smile as she looked up at the young man. 'I'm sorry but I'm afraid that I have to decline your offer.'

Instead of walking away with dejection like the other boys before him, he raised his head and scoffed. 'Huh, you're really are a one-man woman. I'm sure that Sora would rather see you dancing with other boys and be happy rather than alone and sad!'

Angry already, Kairi stood up from the chair and glared at the boy. 'Listen here!' she said heatedly. 'You have no right to talk about me and Sora…' She blinked her eyes. 'Wait a minute, how do you know…' Kairi studied the boy more closely.

The boy was about Sora's height with blue hair with a small ponytail behind his head and brilliant blue eyes. He has tanned skin and a well-built body. He wore a splendid blue coat covering a white doublet and elegant black pants. The most unusual feature about him was the three orange stripes on each side of his face.

Kairi gasped in disbelief and recognition. 'Krocken?'

Krocken gave her a human smile. 'The one and only.'

Kairi looked up and down: trying to connect the polite boy in front of her to the sarcastic blue dinosaur she was so used to. 'Wow… So this is you in your human form… But what are you doing here?'

'The same reason as yours.' Krocken said. 'To wait for Belle's Crystal of Heart to appear but Adam and Belle are only dancing almost at the end of the ball so instead of waiting around twiddling my thumbs, I thought I socialize and try to have some fun. Asking you to dance with me seem to be the right thing to do.' He offered his hand. 'Unless, you have two left feet and will fall all over the place.'

'I'm not too sure whether that was an invitation or a challenge.' Kairi grinned and placed her hand gently on Krocken's. 'Then I'll accept your offer.'

Krocken led Kairi to the middle of the ballroom and holding each other hands, they began to dance. They waltzed through other dancers, Krocken holding to Kairi's hands as she twirled around and dancing slowly with one hand on each other's backs and another reaching out. All the girls who were standing at the side were staring at Krocken and casting envious glances at Kairi while the boys who rejected by Kairi gaped at the handsome boy dancing with her.

'I admit.' Krocken said as they moved to slow dancing. 'You're a good dancer.'

Kairi beamed. 'Thank you, me and Sora were winners at out High School prom last year.'

Krocken raised a blue eyebrow. 'I didn't know Sora could dance.'

Kairi laughed. 'He didn't, I had to teach him a week before the prom! He was always stepping on my feet.'

Krocken laughed with Kairi as they continued dancing. Then, a voice roared.

 **'Kairi, what on earth are you doing?'**

Kairi and Krocken stopped dancing as they saw Donald marching up at them, looking angry. Following quickly behind him was Goofy who trying to swallow what pastries was in his mouth. Some people looked at the group as Donald reached Kairi and Krocken.

'What's up Donald?' Kairi asked in confusion.

Donald put his hands on his hips and scowled. 'I'll tell you what's up: some horned freak captured your boyfriend and you're here, dancing with somebody else! What would my best friend say when he can see his girlfriend cheating on him?'

'Donald…' Krocken try to speak but Donald interrupted him.

'I don't know who you are but I have to tell you that Kairi is already taken!' he snapped. 'As her friend and legal guardian, I have to tell that you cannot have her!'

Kairi gave Donald a raised eyebrow. 'Legal guardian?' And Donald whipped his head back at her.

'That's right young lady! When this party is done and after we get the Crystal of Heart, I'm going to talk to you about loyalty, trust, relationship, purity… What is it now Goofy?' Donald turned to Goofy who had been tapping on his shoulders a few times.

'Geeze Donald.' Goofy said. 'Don't you recognise Krocken?'

Donald looked at him checking whether he was serious before turning to Krocken, then back at Goofy. 'There's no way he can be Krocken!'

Krocken sighed and he shoved his hand in front of Donald's face and with a murmured incantation, his hand morphed into reptilian: giving Donald a shock.

'Quack!' Donald jumped and he looked at Krocken, now recognising the orange stripes on his face. 'It's really you!'

Krocken's hand morphed back into human. 'Two things: first, I can change into human when the occasion arises. Second, if you think that I'm stealing Kairi from Sora then there is something wrong with that feathered head of yours. For one thing, Kairi is too young for me.'

'And who made you my " _legal guardian_ "?' Kairi angrily asked. 'I'm old enough to take care of myself thank you very much!'

Donald started to stutter. 'Well… You see… I thought… You were… I lost it… Didn't…'

Goofy put his hands on Donald's shoulders. 'Don't get mad guys. Donald is just upset because he couldn't get any of the girls to dance with him.'

'Goofy!' Donald quacked. 'That's so besides the point!'

Before the argument could escalate, a friendly voice broke the tension.

'How's the party?'

The group turned to greet Adam and Belle who joined them. Adam was wearing a bright blue coat with golden linings and dark brown pants with polished black shoes while Belle wore a golden dress with golden slippers. Donald breathed in a sigh of relief as Kairi beamed at him.

'Everything is great! You guys throw the best party!'

Belle smiled as Adam noticed Krocken. 'And who is this young lad?'

Before Kairi could answer, Krocken bowed lowly. 'Krocken von Karl at your service, your majesty.'

Adam waved his hand. 'Please, none of this 'majesty' business. We're all friends here, especially if that person is with my friends.'

'Do you two know each other?' Belle asked.

Kairi, amazed at how fast Krocken could come out with a name so quickly, replied. 'He's helping with our quest.'

Krocken gave Kairi a questioning look but Belle smiled and lifted her right hand. 'It's wonderful to have another hero to make the world a better place.'

Krocken gave Belle's hand a small peck and quickly looked away. 'I'm no hero…'

Before Belle could press him for an explanation, somebody joined them.

'Master, master!' the man panted heavily, leaning on his knees. 'Something terrible had happened!'

The panting man wore a brown wig and spectacles resting on his nose. He was portly and short and wore dark brown coat and boots. Goofy waved at him.

'Hello Cogsworth! A-hyuk!'

Donald looked at him. 'Seriously? How are you even doing this Goofy?'

'What's wrong Cogsworth?' Adam asked him.

Cogsworth explained. 'One of our men spotted an unauthorised person going down the basement and to the dungeons! Worst, he was carrying a giant hammer with him!'

No longer the smiling prince, Adam looked worried. 'The dungeons? Oh no… he's…' He turned to Kairi and Krocken. 'I need to go down there immediately!'

'We will come with you!' Kairi immediately said.

Krocken looked at Adam. 'What exactly inside those dungeons?'

'I'll explain on the way!' Adam said urgently as he held Belle's hands. 'Belle, we can't let the guests to panic. Can you handle it?'

Belle nodded. 'Of course.'

'Donald, Goofy!' Adam turned to Donald and Goofy. 'I leave Belle in your care! Take care of her while I deal with this!'

'Yes sir!' Donald and Goofy chorused together.

Adam nodded before turning to Cogsworth. 'Cogsworth, my sword!'

'Yes master!' Cogsworth cried and rushed out of the ballroom, with Adam, Kairi and Krocken following behind him. They passed through many guests who tried to talk with Adam who gave excuses and left the ballroom. They were about to descend down the castle when Cogsworth ran towards them, carrying a jeweled sword. Adam took the sword and after thanking Cogsworth, ran down the stairs and into the dark corridors. Kairi and Krocken ran next to him.

'What are in the dungeons?' Krocken asked.

'Long ago when I was… The Beast.' Adam replied. 'There were many Heartless still roaming the castle and I understood that the only way to get rid of them is with a key-blade am I right?' He directed the question to Kairi who nodded. 'Well, these Heartless just appeared right after Sora helped me save Belle and defeated Xaldin. We managed to drive them into the dungeon where they still have magical seals to keep them in there. If they're set loose, the castle and everybody will be in danger!'

'Then we must stop that from happening.' Kairi said as she pulled out Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess while Krocken had his katana readied. Adam led them deeper until they stopped in front of a massive door with chains stretched across it in an "X" shape with a giant lock in the middle. Standing in front of the door with a massive hammer was a giant figure wearing blue and red armour and have a face of a bulldog.

Kairi lowered both her key-blades and sighed in exasperation. 'Pete, what are you doing?'

Pete turned around to face them and smiled crookedly. 'Oh, it's you again, girlie, and you brought friends. Where are Donald and Goofy this time?'

'They got tired looking of looking at your ugly mug so they're upstairs enjoying he party.' Kairi answered.

'Well it won't be a party for long!' Pete laughed and put a hand on the door. 'You see my dear, behind this door is a mean-face Heartless and I will use this Heartless to confront the Beast and fill his heart with darkness! Once the Beast is within my ranks, I will take over this world!'

Kairi, Krocken and Adam looked at each other, amused. 'That's a good plan.' Krocken admitted. 'Except for one problem.'

'What's that?' Pete demanded.

Adam stepped forward, grinning. 'That I'm the Beast!'

Pete gaped at him and looked at Kairi and Krocken's faces to see if they were tricking him but seeing they were not, he turned back to Adam. 'B-but that's impossible! The Beast is… Big with… Brown fur and claws… And fangs! There's no way you can be the Beast!'

'Well…' Adam shrugged. 'That was me when I was still cursed by the Enchantress but after finding love, I became human again.'

Pete gaped and felt that his plan was crumbling. 'Then I just turn ya back into the Beast…'

'I don't think you can do that.' Adam merely said while Kairi giggled while Krocken smirked. 'I believe only the Enchantress can cast that spell and I doubt you can, not being a magician yourself.'

Pete looked at them and seeing them laughing at him, he bristled with rage. 'Fine! If I can't get the Beast, I'll crush you all to bits!'

With a roar, Pete lifted the hammer above his head and slammed it down onto the lock: shattering it. The chains fell onto the floor once the lock was longer holding them in place and with a laugh: Pete pushed the door opened. Becoming serious again, Kairi, Adam and Krocken readied their weapon while Pete stood aside: rubbing his hands in glee. Then, yellow eyes glowed in the dark and it came under the dungeon's light: showing its crooked smile and its entire body. The Heartless was gigantic with tentacles coming from its back and its stood on ragged feet. Its head had dark tentacles in the shape of a long hair and its dark body was covered in a dark purple robes.

Before Kairi, Krocken or Adam could attack, the Heartless lifted its claws and a light blinded all of them: forcing them to cover her eyes. Once the light dissipated, Kairi unblocked her eyes and was surprise to see Sora standing in front of her. Kairi just stood there, filled with feelings, as she stretched out her hand towards Sora.

'Sora…' she whispered.

To her surprise, Sora swatted her hand away from him. 'How dare you?' he asked angrily. 'You left me Kairi! You let me get captured by the Horned King! You don't care about me! You're just happy to dance with Krocken and leave me to my fate! You disgust me!'

Kairi was hurt. She wanted to explain to Sora that she was still looking for him and that she had never abandoned him to the Horned King but then, something struck her. How did Sora know about her and Krocken dancing? How did he even know about Krocken? What was he doing here when he said that the Horned King captured him and he does not looked captured? The Sora she knew would never say anything so full with hate.

Kairi looked closer and instead of the sky blue eyes, she noticed that Sora's eyes were yellow. Kairi, now knowing what was going on, gripped both her key-blades harder and a look of determination showed on her face.

'You're not Sora!' she screamed and slashed at Sora with Destiny Embrace. Sora faded in front of her and transformed into tentacles. Kairi found herself back in the dungeon and the tentacles retreated away from Kairi and returned to the giant Heartless' side. On her right, Kairi noticed that Adam was roaring.

 **'I'M NO LONGER THE BEAST!'**

Adam swung his sword at two black tentacles and they withdrew from him. Kairi turned to her left and was shocked that Krocken was staring at two tentacles mindlessly: his katana lowered and his face frozen. Kairi could hear what Krocken was muttering.

'I-I s-sorry… Phoenix… It's my fault… You don't deserve such a fate… Please… Forgive me… I'm sorry…'

Kairi saw that the Heartless had raised two more tentacles and was about to bring it down on Krocken who just stood there helplessly. Kairi sprinted towards Krocken and before the tentacles could impale Krocken, Kairi speared Krocken into the floor and the tentacles slammed on where Krocken was. Kairi helped Krocken onto his feet who seem to recover.

'What…' he said. 'What happened to Phoenix?'

Not knowing who Phoenix was, Kairi quickly explained. 'It wasn't her. That Heartless is a shape-shifter or an illusionist. It's using our weaknesses against us before it could strike us with its killing move.'

Krocken jerked violently at Kairi's explanation and Kairi quickly let go of his arm as Krocken walked forwards: with his katana gripped so tightly it was shaking. He glared at the Heartless.

'How… Dare… **YOU**!' he roared. With fury on his face, he charged towards the Heartless, slashed out two approaching tentacles and jumped into the air: ready to slash its head. Just before he could, the Heartless slammed one of its tentacles into him: sending Krocken flying downwards. Kairi quickly pointed Destiny Embrace at Krocken.

'Gravity!'

Krocken's descend slowed down and Adam caught him: preventing both of them from hitting the ground. Adam was struggling to hold onto the furious Krocken as Kairi joined them.

'LET ME GO!' he shouted. 'I WILL KILL IT!'

'Calm down!' Adam shouted. 'You can't take on that thing by yourself! You'll gets killed!'

Before Krocken could argue, Kairi slapped him hard in the face: shocking him. 'Krocken!' Kairi shouted. 'Pull yourself together! I don't know what happened but you need to calm down or you might get us all kill! The Krocken I know would not just blindly charged in!'

Krocken, realising Kairi was right, stop fighting Adam and he was let go: Krocken was now focused as they turned their attentions back to the Heartless.

'The tentacles are its weapons.' Kairi said. 'We need to get rid of them before finishing it off. I will distract it while you two disable the tentacles.'

'Good plan.' Adam nodded. 'I'll take the right and Krocken can handle the left.'

Krocken nodded in agreement and at the same time, he and Adam approached the Heartless from two different directions while Kairi distracted it with spells: blasting fire and lightning at the Heartless' face. As the Heartless screamed in pain, Adam and Krocken quickly sliced off all its tentacles while it was blinded: making the Heartless defenceless. Seeing that the Heartless was unable to attack her, Kairi sprinted towards the Heartless and jumped into the air: swinging down her key-blades onto the Heartless' head. The Heartless shrieked as it faded and only a giant pink heart floated into the air.

Kairi's key-blades disappeared as Adam smiled. 'That's solved our Heartless problem.' He said.

Krocken, however, still had his katana gripped in his hands as he faced a quivering Pete who was nervously chewing on his fingernails: giving him a murderous look.

'Now.' Krocken said dangerously. 'I have some questions for you.'

Pete gulped and fled to the opposite direction, deeper into the dungeons, and screamed. 'MAAAALEEEEFIIIIICEEEEEEEEENT!'

Krocken wanted to go after Pete but Kairi stopped him and shook her head.

'He's not worth it.'

Krocken grunted and sheathed his katana as Pete's screams died out soon.

Kairi smiled as Adam and Belle danced beautifully and elegantly in the ballroom: catching the eyes of everyone who were watching. The string quartet played as the duo waltzed through the floor: gliding while holding hands and Belle twirling in Adam's hands. Soon, the music stopped and the couple smiled at each other before bowing at the guests: receiving a loud applause with Kairi, Donald and Goofy among them.

'May I've everyone's attention please?' Adam announced as the cheers died down. 'On behalf of the entire castle, I would like to thank everybody for the bountiful harvest this year! We will have plenty to eat for the upcoming winter!' Everybody clapped before Adam continued. 'Also, I would like to announced that today is the anniversary of when I found true love! Long time ago, I was spoilt, arrogant and cold-hearted and I would had remained that way if I have not met Belle!' As Belle blushed and smiled, Adam continued. 'It was her who showed me the true meaning of love and my icy heart has melted.' Adam pulled Belle towards him in a hug. 'Thank you for everything, Belle.'

Belle smiled and looked up. 'Oh Adam…'

Adam and Belle kissed and the whole ballroom filled with applause and cheering: Kairi, Donald and Goofy clapping the loudest. Then all the sudden, an exploding light appeared above the couple: blinding a few people. When the light dimmed slightly, everybody, including Adam and Belle, were amazed to see a rose made out of yellow crystal floated down onto Belle's hands: Belle's Crystal of Heart shining with bright radiance. Thinking it was some form of magical trick, the guests clapped loudly as Adam and Belle marvelled at the crystal.

To clear away the guests out of the ballroom so that they could give the crystal to Kairi, Adam coughed. 'Honoured guests, additional wines and more ale are available in the castle's gardens along with jesters and other entertainments. Please adjourn there for more festivities!'

The guests cheered and they slowly filed out of the ballroom and making sure that all of the guests' attentions were away from the Crystal of Heart, Kairi, Donald and Goofy approached Belle and Adam: the Crystal of Heart still in Belle's hands.

'It's beautiful.' Belle murmured at the crystal's brilliance.

'It's sure is.' Kairi agreed. 'But I need to take it with me or else the Horned King will take it for himself.'

'Of course.' Belle said and handed the crystal to Kairi. 'If this will help you in rescuing Sora, then we have no right to keep it.'

'Thank you.' Kairi said as Adam grinned.

'Now with all that done, let's celebrate some more at the gardens!'

'Oh boy!' both Donald and Goofy cried together and rushed out of the ballroom.

Kairi smiled at them. 'I'll join you in a few minutes. I need to talk to somebody.'

Adam nodded and he led Belle out of the ballroom. Once they were gone, Kairi walked onto the balcony that was attached to the ballroom: seeing Krocken leaning against the railings and staring at the night sky. After the fight with the Heartless and after Pete left, Krocken had not said a single word to her and been on the balcony for most of his time. Now he turned to see Kairi approaching him with Belle's Crystal of Heart.

'Oh… Well done.' Krocken said. 'You're getting better at this aren't you?'

'Somebody seem to be off mood.' Kairi said as she handed him the crystal. 'Normally your compliments would have more sarcasms in them.'

Krocken shrugged and looked back at the sky, Belle's Crystal of Heart in his hands while Kairi joined him. Below in the gardens, they could hear more cheering and a loud din as the guests indulged themselves with more alcohol and entertainment. Kairi finally asked Krocken.

'Is this Phoenix person somebody special to you?'

Krocken sighed and looked at Kairi. 'I was really hoping you would forget all that.' He sighed again. 'All right, it's a long story but I will tell you. Once, after I lost a good friend, I became… Depressed and… Needed to belong to somewhere so in my stupidity, I joined a mercenary group called the Dark Hunters. The group is known for it's brutality and wanton killing but I joined in anyway because I felt I belong there. Then one day, we were ordered to kill an innocent village but something… Snapped within me. So I attacked my other colleagues to allow the villagers to escape before making my escape. Now own my own, I was wandering aimlessly: not knowing what to do or where to go. Until I met Phoenix.'

Krocken sighed and lifted his head. 'Phoenix was no other women I have ever met. So kind, so gentle and always stubborn when she tries to aid those in need: like me. Despite being rude to her, she still insisted that I get medical treatment and I'm glad she did. I would have died if it weren't for her. Once I was patched up, I decided to stay with Phoenix, to get accustomed to a simple life and we enjoyed each other company: she's the only person who can make me smile and she even scold me for not treasuring my immortality. To my surprise, I found something I thought I would never find: love. One starry night, we confessed our loves to each other and Phoenix not only accepted my feelings but also promised to make me mortal again.'

'How romantic.' Kairi smiled. 'What happened?'

Krocken's face darkened. 'One and a half year had passed and I was out in the village to buy an engagement ring for her: ready to propose to her. But when I got back, something was wrong. I went to look inside and to my horror: Phoenix was on the floor, in a pool of her own blood.'

Kairi gasped as Krocken continued. 'I… Was numb. Like my entire world has shattered. Just next to her body was a message. Apparently the Dark Hunters, angered by my betrayal, sent an assassin to kill me but instead of me, he killed Phoenix: in cold blood!'

Krocken covered his face in his hands and rubbed it before uncovering it. 'After… Her funeral, I became a cold-hearted being: devoid of emotions and only desire for revenge. It was only the threat of the Horned King that managed to get my mind of everything.' Krocken sighed and gazed sadly at the stars. 'I'm to blame for her death. If I had stayed with the Dark Hunters, Phoenix will still be alive: tending to her garden and taking care of others. I'm no hero, just a ruffian and a cold-hearted killer.'

'That's is where you're wrong!' Krocken turned back to Kairi, surprised at her tone. 'Krocken, if you had stayed in an organization who attacks and kill innocent people, then you would had become a monster and you will never get to meet somebody nice like Phoenix: and she will never had met somebody as nice as you!' Krocken could not say a word. 'Besides, it's not your fault! It was those assassins who took Phoenix away! I'm sure that both you and Phoenix loved every minute you two spent together. And don't sell yourself short: if Phoenix was here right now, she will be happy that what you're doing now is what she always want you to do: to do good for other people!'

Krocken looked at Kairi, a light on his face. 'You think what I'm doing now is honouring Phoenix's wishes?'

Kairi smiled. 'I'm sure she's smiling at you right now for using your immortality to help others in need. In her eyes, you're always a hero to her.'

Krocken nodded. 'You're right. Like how Phoenix helped me before, then I will continue to help those in need! This is what Phoenix would want!' Krocken turned back to Kairi. 'Thank you Kairi, for saving me back there and now: I've found my purpose again. I better get going too. Say my farewell to Adam and Belle for me.'

Kairi smiled. 'I will and I'm glad that I was of some help. Thank you for the dance.'

Krocken gave a rare smile. 'No, thank you… For being a good friend.'

Before Kairi could say anything, Krocken morphed back to his reptilian form and jumped from the balcony into the gardens: disappearing into the night. Once the rustling in the bushes became quiet, Kairi smiled and walked back into the castle: going to join the others in the gardens.


	12. A Kindred Soul

Kairi yawned and stretched as her alarm beeped loudly. She sleepily turned it off and rubbed the sands out from her eyes before rolling out from her bunker. Treading carefully the room to not knock into something, Kairi found the switches and turned on the lights: illuminating the room. With her room now lighted, Kairi walked into her bathroom and washing up: brushing her teeth and washing her face. Still yawning, she walked back into her room and stood in front of her mirror: pulling out her nightgown.

When she fully pulled out her nightgown, she gasped in surprise. Still in her lingerie, she saw in her reflection a great change. Her biceps were bigger and her waist had slimmed down. Her abdominal was harder: still flat but definitely harder than before. Kairi stood up straight and swore that she had grown an inch taller: her head reaching the top of the mirror. When she stretched her legs, she could feel the hardness in her calves and the tightness in her arms when she flexed them.

Kairi let her arms dropped, still not believing that she had transformed so much. Then when the initial shock was over, she giggled. Looks like all those travelling and fighting in each and every world they been to had toughen her up. So that was why Sora was so fit and strong. She flexed her new biceps again and giggled.

'Looks like I'm brawn, brains and beauty.' She mused.

Before she could continue on with her musing, the sirens rang throughout the entire ship. Kairi quickly put on her standard red dress and retied the laces on her white shoes before stepping out of her room. She walked past Donald and Goofy's quarters, now empty, and hurried into the ship's control room where Donald and Goofy were: looking at the Gummi ship's scanner. As Kairi came closer, she could see a world on the screen.

'What world is that?' she asked Donald who was pressing buttons on the computer.

'Olympus Coliseum.' Donald answered with great nostalgia. 'It was where me, Sora and Goofy became true heroes!'

'Junior heroes, Donald.' Goofy corrected.

Kairi raised an eyebrow. 'Junior heroes?'

'Yeah.' Donald growled. 'Philoctetes, or Phil, won't promote us: even though we have been to many worlds and adventures!'

'Maybe we still needs experience Donald.' Goofy piped in. 'Hey, why not we take Kairi there? She can get her Junior Hero license!'

'You need a license to be a hero?' Kairi asked.

'Not really.' Goofy admitted. 'But it does make it official! A-hyuk!'

'Cool!' Kairi's eyes widened. 'Let's go!'

Donald chuckled. 'Whatever the lady says!'

Donald stepped on the accelerator and the Gummi Ship sped towards the world: flying through stars and passing asteroids. Soon the sky turned from void less black to sky blue with white clouds. They passed through the white clouds, making the Gummi ship's windows misty with condensation, and flew above an arena that was familiar to Donald and Goofy: the Coliseum.

Two statues of two mighty warriors stood above the entrance of the coliseum with their golden, shiny swords crossed. The Coliseum was constructed in a circle with giant stone pillars supporting the walls and on top of the wall in every meter was a giant torch: blazing with such ferocity. Inside of the Coliseum was a giant pit full with sands and broken weapons: surrounded by stone seats that overlooked the entire fighting pit: the sands were littered with broken weapons.

Donald landed the Gummi ship just next in front of the entrance of the coliseum so not to block the entrance and he, Goofy and Kairi stepped outside and was met with godly statues and blue heavenly skies: a new experience for Kairi. When she was younger or during drama classes, Kairi read about mythical Greek creatures such as centaurs and nymphs. Now right in front of her, she was seeing people with a torso of a horse and horned beings mixed with other humans: something you do not get to see everyday.

'Come on!' Goofy pulled her towards the Coliseum. 'We gotta to let you see Phil!'

Kairi allowed herself to be dragged into the Coliseum by Goofy as Donald took the lead, passing the fighting pit and sending sand flying. Donald led them to a small building made from stone that was connected to the coliseum. Once entering, Kairi felt a different atmosphere than in the arena. Torches brightly lighted up the room, revealing mosaics of Greek gods and goddesses doing great deeds for the greater goods of mankind and statues of heroes and heroines. In carved gaps in the walls were trophies made from the finest clay and valuable metals on displays. In the middle of the room was a statue of a young man made out of pure gold and was sculpted to show him flexing his biceps but he had a big smile on her face.

This must be Hercules Donald and Goofy were talking about. Kairi thought to herself.

Finding herself in the coliseum's lobby, she saw that Donald and Goofy were approaching a short man: of a sort. The man has a body of a man but his lower body was that of a goat and there were horns on his head. He was bald with red hair on the side and back of his head as well as a red beard. He was about Donald's height with a hairy chest and a potbelly. Kairi racked her brain and remembered that the creature was a satyr: a half-man and half-goat being. The satyr was ticking off something on a long parchment.

The satyr sighed as he ticked something on the parchment. 'There goes another one… They don't make good heroes like they use to…'

'Heya Phil!' Goofy greeted. 'It's been a long time!'

The satyr, must be Philoctetes, looked up from the parchment and his frown turned into a beaming face. 'Donald, Goofy! Looks like the Junior Heroes have come back! Still heroes yet?'

'Sure am!' Donald boasted. 'We save the universe from a group of baddies who wanted to take over it!'

'Hmmm…' Phil demurred, pulling his goatee. 'That's a start.'

Donald's smile fell. 'What do you mean that's a start?'

Phil ignored him and his eyes fell on Kairi. 'Why hello… Who is this pretty damsel?'

Goofy pushed Kairi in front of Phil. 'This is Kairi. She's Sora's girlfriend and she's… Travelling with us.'

Phil whistled. 'Sora is lucky to have a pretty thing for a girlfriend.' Kairi blushed. 'Which reminds me, where is Sora?'

Kairi eyes lowered. 'He's…'

'In another world fighting a monster!' Donald interrupted loudly. Kairi and Goofy looked at Donald, puzzled at his lie.

Phil, however, looked interested. 'Go on.'

'Not a monster.' Donald corrected. 'More like a giant! As big as Mount Olympus!' He was nudging Goofy's legs, urging him to back him up.

Goofy took the hint. 'Yeah! With a head of a poodle!'

Phil raised an eyebrow. 'A poodle?'

'What Goofy meant to say is that it has a head of a dragon!' Donald said, glaring at Goofy. 'With sharp black claws and razor sharp teeth!'

'With wings and tails on fire!' Goofy added.

'And spewing out lava and fire all over the place!' Donald continued. 'And his mouth could swallow an entire city! Sora was asked to fight the giant and send him packing!'

Kairi rolled her eyes at Donald and Goofy's exaggerated lie but she noticed that Phil bought it when he wiped a tear from his eyes.

'That's my boy! A hero in making indeed!' Phil smiled proudly, like a father who was proud that his son first learnt that he could walk. Then he looked back at Donald and Goofy. 'So you guys are here instead of backing him up… Why?'

Donald answered easily. 'Sora told us he can handle the monster by himself so we could just chill and take Kairi here to train.'

'You see.' Goofy continued as he placed his hands on Kairi's shoulders. 'Kairi wanted to fight alongside Sora against monsters and other baddies so she came here to become a Junior Hero like us.'

Kairi looked back at Goofy. 'But I didn't…'

'Hhhmmm…' Phil said thoughtfully as he studied Kairi, circling around her. When his back was on them, Kairi saw that Donald and Goofy were exchanging thumbs up: even winking at each other. Kairi glowered at them until Phil was now in front of her.

'Girl, seven words.' He told her. 'Bravery, strength and selflessness.'

Kairi was confused. 'Isn't it only three words?'

Phil ignored her. 'A hero… Or a heroine in your case… Must be strong, courageous and be willing to save those despite of any danger. Just like my boy Hercules here.' He gestured towards the statue of Hercules before turning back to Kairi. 'Just looking at you and I know you have a heart of a true heroine but do you have what it takes to be one.'

'And how do I become a true heroine?' Kairi asked.

'Two words: trai-ning.' Phil beamed. 'When I'm done with you, all the boys and men will be drooling after an amazon heroine like you.'

* * *

'Don't give up now!' Phil ordered as he surveyed Kairi doing push-ups in front of him. 'Just another twenty more to go!'

Kairi snorted. She just hoped that when Phi meant twenty, he meant twenty. Kairi had just done thirty push-ups with a barrel full of olive oil on her back. It was not enough to break her back but it did give her a hard time. The push-ups should not be so bad if Phil had not made her carried crates and barrels from one end of the arena to the other end, have her knocked crates and barrels that were thrown at her and the thousands of exercises he had set on her. As Kairi did her fortieth push-up, her muscles in her calves and arms were burning and her clothes were drenched in sweat: not something a girl was comfortable in.

After she was done with her push-ups, she dropped onto the ground: panting and moaning with relief. Before she could take in a breather, Phil announced.

'Very good… Do fifty laps around the arena and we will take a break.'

Not believing what she was hearing, Kairi weakly turned to face Phil. 'Are… You… Crazy?' she panted. 'Are you trying to kill me or something?'

'Now what kind of attitude is that?' Phil asked. 'Being a hero isn't easy.' He turned to where Donald and Goofy were sitting. 'Those two and Sora had training worse than yours and they're only Junior Heroes. And besides, you're not one of those squeamish girls who only care about fancy and looks. Am I right?'

'Well… No but…'

'Good.' Phil nodded. 'Now finish those 50 laps and you can wash up before your next round of training.'

Kairi sighed and forced herself to stand up: ignoring the protests coming from her arms and legs. Breathing deeply, she sprinted on her feet and started jogging before increasing her pace: slowly running around the arena. While she was running, she glanced up at Donald and Goofy. They beamed at her and gave her thumbs up: encouraging her. Kairi muttered darkly as she continued running: when this is all over, she's going to make them pay.

* * *

'Woah…' Phil commented. 'At first I had my doubts about you but you had proven to be the second athletic woman I ever met.'

They were back in the lobby where Kairi was leaning against a pillar after a training of blocking arrows fired towards her and series of swords fights with sword-wielding centaurs. After defeating all of them, Kairi had another bath and had asked Goofy to bring her another set of clothes from the Gummi ship. She gulped down cold water from a flagon and once she was refreshed, she looked up towards Phil: curious.

'The second? There was another woman before me?'

'Yes.' Phil sighed at the memory. 'Short blue hair, skin as pale as Pegasus, and tall as one of those famed amazons. Defeated an ice titan of all things.' Then he turned his attention back to Kairi. 'You reminded me so much about her. Therefore, I'm putting you, Donald and Goofy in the tournament.'

'Seriously?' Kairi, Donald and Goofy chorused together.

Phil nodded. 'Today is a tournament to honor Hercules, Sora, Auron, Donald and Goofy defeated Hades: the lord of the Underworld. Although that blue-haired jerk is around, he's been behaving. Anyway, I thought that you guys would want to have a chance to win the Hero of Olympus cup. So you guys in?'

'Well?' Donald turned to Kairi. 'Wanna give it a try?'

Kairi looked at both Donald and Goofy's hopeful looks and grinned. 'Yeah! Let's do this!' She put her palms facing down out and Donald and Goofy also placed their hands on hers.

'Great!' Phil said and scribbled something on the parchment. 'The tournament will start at noon so be ready by then.' He looked at the parchment and sighed. 'Besides you, the other contestants seem to be like those mediocre thugs you will find on the streets. I'm afraid that this tournament will be a walk in the park for you guys.'

'Then allow me to spark things up.'

Everybody turned towards the voice, not expecting someone else in the room. The voice belongs to a woman at the entrance. This woman's hair was short rose-colored hair and eyes were sky blue. Her skin was pale and her body was slim and athletic: more than Kairi's. She wore black armor that covers her front with black arms sleeves and gloves. Attached to her top of her armor was a white and red cape and two white waist capes hung at her sides and reached until her feet. She wore black and red boots. Her shoulders were covered in black armored shoulder pads. Attached to her left arm was a red shield shaped like a lotus and in her right hand was a red long sword that even reached until her feet.

She strode into the lobby and passed through the statues until she stood in front of Phil: towering over him. Phil whistled.

'Wow.' He looked up and down at the woman. 'I can't believe my luck, two women in one day. What's your story gorgeous? You look like you're one of those warrior Goddesses from Mount Olympus…'

'Keep your flattery to yourself, goat-man.' The woman snapped. 'I'm only interested in the tournament.'

'Of course, of course.' Phil grabbed his quill and pushed his parchment to the top. 'So what's your name, beautiful?'

The woman glared at Phil, making him shuddered, before giving him a short answer. 'Lightning.'

Phil whistled as he wrote down her name. 'Lightning huh? Mmmmm… Quite… Feminine and yet strike fear into her enemies! I like that! You know, after the tournament, maybe you and I could…'

Lightning rolled her eyes and turned on her heels: heading straight for the exit. When she passed Kairi, Kairi and Lightning exchanged glances: their blue connecting. Kairi sensed the coldness in the woman's eyes and shivered slightly. As her name suggested, Lightning left the lobby just like how she strode into it in the first place.

Donald looked at where she left. 'She's means business. Looks like we got some competition.'

Kairi nodded and realized there was something else in the woman's eyes besides coldness and determination.

It felt like she was searching for something.

* * *

Lightning left the lobby and was already in the arena, the hot sun bathing her with its radiant heat and her black boots kicking sand in the air. Before she could exit the arena, black smokes materialized in front of her and a figure stood before her. The figure's skin was grey and he was covered in a black toga. His eyes were cat-like yellow with a long nose and a jutting chin. Most unique about the stranger's feature was that his hair was a blue flame that was burning his head.

Hades, Lord of the Underworld, winked at Lightning. 'You're in?'

Lightning nodded. 'Yes, the tournament should start at noon.'

'Excellent!' Hades clapped his hands in glee. He tried to place a hand on lightning's shoulders but she shoved it away with a grimace. 'Listen babe, now that you're in, winning this tournament as my champion will make Zeus and his goodies-goodies to allow me to reopen my own coliseum back in the Underworld! Oooohhh… I can almost taste fresh souls dying in my arena already!'

'And if I help you win this tournament, will you…' Lightning asked.

'Hey.' Hades began. 'I'm a very fair guy. You win this thing for me and you get what you want! Ba-ba-bing, ba-ba-boom! Hehehehe! Just don't muck this up.'

With that, Hades disappeared in black smokes; leaving Lightning to stare at where Hades disappeared before leaving the arena.

* * *

Kairi ducked an axe swing by a gladiator and struck him in the stomach with Destiny Embrace: not to kill him but to knock him. The man gasped through his helm and let go of his axe: letting it drop into the sand. The man fell onto his knees and fell forward: snoring in the sand. Kairi had no time to admire her results of training when another gladiator thrust a trident towards her: Kairi easily sidestepped his attack and swung Destiny embrace in a circle. The key-blade struck the man on the back of his head and he collapsed on the arena: smiling up into the heavens.

Kairi smiled as she had easily disposed of her opponents too easily and watched as Donald and Goofy were handling a centaur: Donald freezing its legs and Goofy knocking the centaur out with his shield. The centaur moaned in pain before falling onto its side: unconscious. The crowd stood up and roared with approval: slightly shaking the arena and their cheers reaching Olympus itself. Kairi raised Destiny Embrace into the air and smiled: Donald and Goofy waving their hands as the crowd cheered for them.

Kairi, Donald and Goofy had easily won their way until the semi-finals: defeating all sorts of contestants from human gladiators to fierce centaurs. Kairi smiled as the training and adventures she had undergone had increased her strength ten-fold when she first began her quest to look for Sora. Kairi had easily dodged and blocked any attacks from her opponents with ease. Now she was glad that she had taken Phil's training.

'Great job team!' she said as she high-fived Donald and Goofy. 'We showed them!'

'Yeah!' Goofy said. 'We're on our way to the finals! A-hyuk!'

'We were awesome!' Donald added as they entered the lobby: Phil waiting for them.

'Three words: Fan-Tas-Tic!' Phil beamed at them. 'I expected nothing less from you three. That cup is as good as yours already!'

'Thanks Phil.' Kairi smiled at the satyr.

'Are we heroes now?' Donald asked excitedly.

Phil shook his head. 'Not so fast, kid. You haven't even finish the tournament yet.' Phil looked at the sundial. 'Speaking of which, the second semi-finals is going to start. You better grab a seat before its finish.'

'Right!' Kairi said and she and her friends rushed out of the lobby and entered the arena by another way: leading them to the seats. They found empty spaces at the lower levels and quickly sat down: heralds already announcing the start of the second semi-finals. The arena's doors opened and the crowd cheered loudly when Lightning walked into the arena: looking as cool as a cucumber.

'Hey!' Goofy said. 'It's that woman from before.'

'Looks like she made it to the semi-finals.' Donald commented. 'Looks like we will be facing her: if she wins this round.'

Kairi nodded and turned back to Lightning, who did not even break a sweat for the entire tournament. The arena's doors opened again and something stomped out onto the arena. The figure was clad from head to toe in light brown armor with two golden blades sticking out from its arms. In the slits of its helmet were two glowing yellow orbs and on its pauldrons were symbols of a black heart being crossed with red zigzag lines.

Kairi stood up and gasped. 'That's a Stalwart Blade! What's a Heartless doing here?'

'It's happening again!' Donald moaned. 'We also had to fight Heartless when we were here.'

'This might be dangerous.' Goofy said. 'We gotta warn Lightning before she gets hurt!'

'Right.' Kairi agreed but before they could say anything, let alone shout a warning, Lightning just took a step and she disappeared: reappearing behind of the Stalwart Blade. The arena suddenly became quiet as the audience had no idea what had just transpired: only the winds can be heard and the soft flickering of the torches. Lightning's body was lowered and her blade was drawn out on her right side and now she straitened up: her blade pointing down. Then the Stalwart Blade suddenly shuddered and dropped onto its knees: fading away, leaving only darkness and a pink heart floated upwards towards the sky. Soon, the Stalwart Blade was no more.

Silence filled the coliseum, as everybody, including the gaping Kairi, Donald and Goofy, could not believe that Lightning had cut down her opponent without breaking a sweat. Then slowly, it began with a soft clapping of hands before the applause built up. The spectators were on their feet, clapping as hard as they could and whistling: cheering loudly for Lightning. Kairi, Donald and Goofy recovered from their surprise and started clapping awkwardly: still not believing what they had just witnessed.

'That… Was amazing.' That was all Kairi could say.

'Even Sora couldn't defeat a Heartless like that…' Donald commented.

Goofy only nodded in agreement with Donald and Kairi.

Lightning then turned towards them, looking at them in silent but her gaze was still fierce. Kairi gulped but quickly cleared her throat and nudged the others.

'Come on guys. It's our turn. Let's win the finals.'

Donald and Goofy snapped out from their shock and nodded, determination returning back to their faces. They rose from their seat and instead of entering through the lobby, Kairi jumped from the seating podium and landed onto the coliseum's ground: right in front of Lightning. Donald and Goofy soon joined Kairi as they landed just next to her. Once they were together in the coliseum, they pulled out their weapons: Kairi summoned Destiny Embrace; Donald conjured out his staff and Goofy pulled out his shield. Lightning just stood still, calmly observing them as Kairi gripped Destiny Embrace in both hands while Donald and Goofy positioned themselves into fighting stances.

Then with no official indication to start the final round, Donald cried and pointed his wand at Lightning. Electricity sparked at the tip of his wand and a bolt of lightning flew towards Lightning. Lightning pointed her blade towards the electrical missile and, to the surprise to them, fired a larger electrical projectile. The two electrical bolts collided into one another for a moment before Lightning's attack overwhelmed Donald's magic, pushing back towards him. Donald quacked in surprise, as he was sent flying backwards as Lightning's magic attack made an impact on him. Donald landed on his back, his white-feathered body blackened and he is quivering from the electrical shock.

Goofy gave a yell and threw his shield, the shield flying towards Lightning. Lightning brought her blade up and brought it down again, knocking the shield down to the sand. Then with another step, Lightning sprinted towards Goofy and rammed her shield into his stomach. Goofy gasped and was knocked off his feet, landing on his back with his eyes closing. Wasting no time, Lightning turned on her heel and brought her blade down on Kairi. Kairi, barely able to keep up with Lightning, brought Destiny Embrace up and blocked Lightning's attack. Then pushing Lightning's bade aside, Kairi raised her right foot and launched a kick onto Lightning's shield: pushing her back.

Kairi pointed her key-blade at Lightning and ice shots out from Destiny Embrace. Lightning steadied and murmured something. Just before Kairi's blizzaga attack touch Lightning, a firewall enveloped Lightning: melting the ice attack. With the ice making impact with the fire, it created a steam that blocked Lightning's view on the entire arena. Before the steam could even settle, Lightning saw a vague figure jumping through the steam and heading towards her. Lightning quickly brought her shield up as Kairi struck it with Destiny Embrace, even forcing Lightning to her knees. Kairi gritted her teeth and ignored the sweat that was threatening to seep into her eyes as she put more pressure on Lightning. Lightning, for the first time in the entire tournament, growled and pushed Kairi backwards and swung her blade at her.

Kairi parried the first blow and dodged the second one, only to be kicked by Lightning in the stomach. Getting the wind knocked from her, Kairi fell on her back but quickly rolled onto her feet as Lightning leaped into the air with her blade raised. Kairi steadied herself and conjured out Bear Princess just in time to cross both her key-blades to block Lightning's downward strike. The blow, however, managed to force Kairi to take a few steps back before holding her ground. Kairi used both her key-blades to lock Lightning's blade while Lightning pushed her blade harder onto Kairi, their eyes met. Blue met blue as Lightning and Kairi saw what they had in common: bravery and determination.

Once they were done acknowledging each other as worthy opponents, Kairi slid her key-blades forward: pushing Lightning's blade back towards her. Before Lightning could even pulled her blade back, Kairi pushed it aside with Destiny Embrace while thrusting Bear Princess towards Lightning's face. Lightning quickly brought up her shield and knocked Bear Princess at the side, putting the two gladiatrixes in a deadlock. Lightning growled and leaped on Kairi's thigh and shoulders before flipping backwards in midair, landing on her feet. Before Lightning's feet could even touch the ground, Kairi sprints forward and launched quick sequences of swordplay at Lightning. Lightning blocked Kairi's attacks with both blade and shield, stepping backwards slowly before twirling around to dodge a stab from Kairi and swung her shield onto Kairi's back.

Kairi gasped as she was knocked forward but before she could fall onto her face, she placed her palms onto the sand and performed a vertical cartwheel until she was on her feet. She immediately turned around and brought up key-blades up to meet with Lightning's blade, Lightning's turn to use fast moves on Kairi. Kairi grunted at the peer force of Lightning's attacks but managed to block them and endure the onslaught, thanks to her travels and training with Phil. Finding a weak spot in Lightning's moves, Kairi parried her attack with Destiny Embrace and, using the strength of Bear Princess, knocked Lightning's shield from her left hand. Surprised, Lightning leaped backwards and landed on her heels nimbly. Both contestants kept their distance, panting heavily with sweat pouring from their faces but were still in fighting stance.

Before they could continue fighting, a rumble shook the coliseum: knocking everyone off their feet. Lightning fell onto her knees as Kairi yelped and fell on her bottoms as the coliseum filled with a loud commotion. The spectators stood on their feet and whirled their heads as they wondered what was going on when suddenly the two loud explosions were heard, creating a giant hole on the coliseum's walls and sending spectators flying. When the dust settled, a giant figure entered the coliseum.

It was gigantic behemoth towering over them, made out of fats and muscles. It moved extremely slow as it lift its heavy legs and landing them down onto the ground, shaking the earth slightly. Its body was light orange with a giant belly. The creature only has one eye with dark pupil that glared at the screaming spectators and it opened its mouth with fangs and crushing teeth. On its head was a horn that points towards the heavens and it looks sharp. It wore a dirty brown loincloth and carried a spiked club in his meaty hands. The creature chortled and gave a tremendous roar, making those insides more frightened.

Kairi slowly stood back up and stared at the creature as Lightning joined her.

'What the hell…' Lightning muttered.

Then suddenly, a black smoke appeared before them. Kairi and Lightning shielded their eyes as the black smoke surrounded them. When it settled down, Hades stood in front of them.

'Ladies!' he said as he approached them. 'Wonderful show you two put up. I was so tempted to let it go on but you know, I have dinner to catch, some souls to condemned… A busy schedule! Well, it's not easy being the lord of the Underworld.'

'Sora told me about you.' Kairi growled as she clutched both her key-blades tighter. 'You're that low-life who's trying to take over Olympus.'

'He's too kind.' Hades bowed mockingly at Kairi. 'And judging that you're holding those special key-blades I heard about and you're with those two clowns.' He gestured at Donald and Goofy. 'You must be his girlfriend. Please to meet ya. The name's Hades, Lord of the Underworld, and the big fellow behind me is Cyclops.' He pointed at the Cyclops. 'I thought that I bring my one-eyed friend here to demolish the coliseum and terrorize the people, especially when the people's hero, Jerkules, is out of town with his own girlfriend. Good plan eh?'

Before Kairi could even retort, Lightning snarled. 'You… You promise me if I win this tournament, you will bring Serah back from the Underworld!'

'Yeah…' Hades demurred. 'About that: in the first place, I had my fingers crossed. In the second place…' A parchment appeared in Hades' pale blue hands. 'Well according to the "newly arrivals", there's no Serah Farron entering the Underworld so I kinda lied about the whole "Serah is trapped in the Underworld and the only way to free her is to win the tournament for me" yada yada yada.' The parchment disappeared and Hades turned back to Lightning. 'Hey, you gamble on this and you lost. Ba-ba-bing, ba-ba-boom! That's life for you.'

Lightning's body was quivering with rage and her grip on her sword was unbearable. 'You… Bastard!'

Lightning roared and with her blade raised, she ran towards Hades and swung her sword…

… Only to hit thin air and stumbled forward, landing face-first into the sand. Hades reappeared right behind Kairi as Lightning groaned and spat out sand.

'Instead of venting your anger on me.' Hades smirked. 'You should probably vent on the guy whose going to smash you to smithereens. Well, it was nice doing business with you. Keep in touch.'

With that, Hades vanished into thin air as the Cyclops roared and brought his pudgy fist down on the defenseless Lightning. Kairi gasped and pointing Destiny Embrace at Lightning, she shouted.

'PROTECTGA!'

A blue shield covered Lightning and when the Cyclops' fist smashed into it, it pulled its fist back and howled in pain. Kairi raised an eyebrow as she watched the Cyclops caressing its hand and roared in agony. Not only had she grown in strength but her magic had increased too. Kairi quickly stopped admiring herself and ran towards Lightning when the shield faded away. Lightning was still on her fours when Kairi pulled her up onto her feet and dragged her away from the Cyclops. The Cyclops roared and lifting its foot, slammed it down onto the ground: sending Kairi and Lightning back onto the ground.

Kairi and Lightning landed on their sides but were unhurt. Kairi helped Lightning onto her feet as she spotted that Donald and Goofy also getting up onto her feet.

'Hey guys!' she shouted at them. 'Get everyone out of here! We will take care of the Cyclops!'

'Roger!' Donald cried and helped Goofy into ushering the spectators out of the coliseum.

Kairi turned to Lightning who was staring at the Cyclops. 'Are you just going to stand there or help me defeat this thing?'

Lightning turned sharply at Kairi. 'I've nothing here. This is your fight. I need to look for Serah.'

'So you're just going to let thousand of innocent people die?' Kairi asked angrily. 'Because this has nothing to do with you or this Serah person? I never expected someone like you to be a selfish coward!'

Lightning glared at Kairi who glared back. 'Quiet! You don't know anything about me little girl!'

'You're right. I don't know anything about you.' Kairi replied, calmly but sternly. 'But I do know this: Hades just set loose a monster and he used you! Now it's going to destroy the entire coliseum and kill thousand people because you allowed Hades to have his ways! I don't think anyone or Serah would want that!'

Lightning stopped and stared at Kairi. She hesitated as her strong characters suddenly weakened at Kairi's words. Then it came back.

'You're right! I'm going to make that blue bastard pay and killing this thing will upset him!' Lightning raised her blade. 'What's the plan?'

Kairi grinned and raised both Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess. 'I say we charge in and see what we can do.'

Lightning shrugged. 'Sounds like a plan.'

Yelling, Lightning and Kairi charged with weapons raised. The Cyclops roared in retaliations and lifting its club, it brought it down on them. Kairi went onto her left while Lightning sprinted to her right as the club slammed into the ground. Lightning stopped herself and brought her blade on the Cyclops' wrist, making the creature roared in pain and dropped his club. Before it could pull back its arm, Kairi jumped onto its wrist and ran up the Cyclops arm. The Cyclops, noticing that Kairi was running up its arm, snarled and using its free hand, slammed it down on her. Kairi merely jumped into the air as the Cyclops' meaty palm slapped onto its arm and Kairi landed on top of the Cyclops' head.

Summoning strength within Bear Princess, Kairi raised Bear Princess and slashed the horn off the Cyclops. The Cyclops howled in pain and slammed both its hands on top of its head to crush Kairi but Kairi took a step back, the gigantic hands slamming on top of the Cyclops' head and giving it a slight concussion. Kairi quickly cast an ice spell and encased the Cyclops hands in ice, making the Cyclops a handicap. Lightning pointed her blade towards the Cyclops' head and with deadly precision, fired a lightning arrow: piercing the Cyclops' eye. The Cyclops' screams were painful as it clumsily stumbled back and forth, blinded by Lightning's attack.

Kairi jumped off the Cyclops' head and landed next to Lightning. Lightning and Kairi looked at each other and with a nod, sprinted forward and slashed at the Cyclops' knees. The Cyclops roared in pain and fell onto its knees. With the Cyclops closer to the ground, Kairi and Lightning jumped into the air and raised their weapons. With its only eye blinded, the Cyclops could not defend itself as Kairi and Lightning brought their blades down on its head. Kairi and Lightning flew pass the Cyclops head and landed on their feet softly behind the Cyclops. The Cyclops groaned softly before it fell face first into the sand, creating a loud shaking in the earth before it slowly stopped. The Cyclops' breathing became heavy and slowly, it became softer until it became quiet: the Cyclops was completely still.

Kairi and Lightning lowered their weapons and when they were determined the Cyclops was dead, Lightning sheathed her blade while Kairi's key-blades disappeared from her hands. Kairi smiled at Lightning.

'We did it!'

For the first time meeting her, Lightning smiled back. 'We did.'

Before they could continue the conversation, the spectators who were escaping from the Cyclops slowly crept back into the coliseum. Seeing that the Cyclops was dead and Kairi and Lightning were standing there, they gave a loud cheer and rushed towards them. Before Lightning and Kairi could do anything, the crowd lifted them onto their shoulders and called out their names. Kairi beamed and waved at Donald and Goofy who also returned after helping the spectators. Lightning gave a small smile as the elated crowd carried she and Kairi.

Elsewhere, Hades watched the precession: furious as the flames on his head turned red.

'Argh!' he fumed. 'I knew I should have gone for the Minotaur! Or the Nemean Lion! You just can't trust an one-eyed meathead to do the job right!' Then his flames turned back to blue as he shrugged. 'Oh well: you win some, you lose some. Ba-ba-boom, ba-ba-bing. That what I keep telling my customers.' He sighed. 'Back to the drawing board… You honestly can't find good help these days…'

Hades faded into darkness as he returned back to the Underworld.

* * *

'For your bravery for saving the coliseum from the Cyclops and preventing any deaths, you are hereby declared a champion of the Gods of mighty Olympus!' Philoctetes announced, reading from the parchment.

After the celebration hosted by the town, Kairi, Donald and Goofy returned to the arena's lobby where Philoctetes awaited them. Due to the Cyclops interrupting the finals, no one was awarded the Hero of Olympus Cup. However, Philoctetes did have something for Kairi.

'Thus, I announced Kairi as a true heroine of Olympus and will always be welcome at…'

'Woah, woah, woah!' Donald interrupted. 'Kairi's a " _true heroine_ "? Then what about us? Are we finally promoted from junior heroes?'

'A-hyuk!' Goofy added. 'We did rescue those people from being crush.'

'I'm sorry, boys.' Phil told them as he rolled up the parchment. 'But you two were knocked out just by one hit and a true hero need to be able to take that kind of punishment. Even though rescuing civilians is counted as a deed of heroism, you two need more fortitude and experience. Like Kairi here.'

'Then what about that time we defeated Cerberus, the Hydra and Hades himself?' Donald argued. 'How's that for fortitude and experience?'

'Well… Hercules did… I mean, like I said: you boys need more experience and need to be more seasonal to become a true hero…'

'I never knew you were so biased Phil.' Goofy stated.

Phil whirled on Goofy. 'I'm not being biased! Its… Its just facts! Now if you excuse me, I've more important things to do: like repairing the coliseum!'

Huffing his hairy chest, Phil strode pass them and walked towards the exit. Donald and Goofy, not going to be so easily rebuffed, followed after him.

'Oh come on Phil!' Donald quacked. 'There must be something that can be considered…'

'No!' Phil said shortly as he continued on.

'Couldn't you just promote us one rank up?' Goofy suggested. 'I mean, it doesn't have to be something big…'

They continued bickering with Phil as they left the lobby. Kairi, who was left alone, giggled and shook her head.

'Your friends are more concern with titles than their own abilities.'

Kairi turned as Lightning stepped out from the shadows and joined her, standing in front of the statue of Hercules.

Kairi shrugged. 'Boys will be boys. I'm sure they know their own abilities than anyone.'

Lightning chuckled and looked at the statue of Hercules. 'So this is Hercules. I always wanted to know what kind of person is he.'

'Same here.' Kairi agreed. Both of them looked at the statue for a long time. Finally, Kairi asked. 'Is Serah a friend of yours?'

'My younger sister.' Lightning replied. 'I've been looking for her for a long time. It's… It was rumored that she died while I was away but I do not believe it. I know she is somewhere out there and I will find her, even if it means my own death.'

'I can easily relate.' Kairi said as she turned to Lightning. 'My boyfriend was kidnapped and I just stood there when it happened.' Kairi lowered her eyes. 'No matter the risks and dangers, Sora rescued me when I was abducted.' She looked back up at Lightning. 'So now it's my turn to save him.'

Lightning looked at Kairi. 'Besides our fighting skills, we do have something in common: saving those we loved.' She held her hands out. 'I'm sorry but I didn't get your name.'

Kairi smiled and took Lightning's hand, shaking it. 'The name's Kairi.'

Lightning shook back. 'You're a good fighter and a brave girl. I know you will find Sora soon. Good luck in your travels.'

'And good luck to yours.' Kairi replied. 'I know you will find your sister.'

Lightning nodded and letting go of Kairi's hand, she turned around and walked towards the exit. Before she could leave the building, Kairi called her back.

'What's your real name?' Kairi asked. 'Surely "Lightning" isn't your true name.'

There was a moment pause, as Lightning just stood there, unmoving. Then she turned her head over her shoulders and smiled.

'The name's Claire… Claire Farron.'

Then she continued on, leaving the Kairi alone in the lobby, as Lightning continued on with her journey. Kairi stood there and watched as Lightning left, smiling that she found a kindred soul.

'Good luck and safe travels Claire Farron.' Kairi whispered, knowing that in her heart that Lightning will find her sister as she will find Sora.


	13. Battle of Radiant Garden

Kairi cried an swung both Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess at four Armoured Knights, eliminating each and every one of them. Donald pointed his wand into the sky and lightning bolts fell onto six other Soldiers while Goofy blocked an attack from a Lance Soldier before Kairi flung Destiny Embrace towards it like a boomerang, making it fade away. However, more Heartless still comes after them.

Kairi, Donald and Goofy were fighting on a majestic marbled staircase under the starry night sky and in front of a magnificent blue castle, with Kairi fighting at the top of the staircase while both Donald and Goofy fought at the bottom. In between them were two couples, a man and a woman. The man was tall with short black hair nicely combed and pale complexion. He wore a yellow suit with golden paddings and brown pants, along with white gloves and black shoes. The woman's blonde hair was tied into a bun and with pale complexion. She wore a beautiful white dress and gloves with slippers made out of glass. They hugged tightly, the man wrapping his arms protectively around the woman as Kairi, Donald and Goofy fended off the Heartless.

Soon, the lines of Heartless started dwindling until none were left. Kairi, Donald and Goofy checked to make sure that no Heartless were left before gathering around Prince Charming and Cinderella, one of the Princesses of Hearts.

'Thank you so much for protecting us Kairi, Donald and Goofy.' Prince Charming said as he unwrapped his arms from Cinderella. 'If you weren't here, me and Cinderella would had been badly hurt.'

'Here Kairi.' Cinderella smiled, holding out her hands. 'I believe this will help you in your quest.'

She held out a slipper but it was made out of blue crystal and radiated a strong magical aura close by. Kairi smiled as she gently took Cinderella's Crystal of Heart from her. 'Thank you Cinderella. We will take good care of it.'

'By "we" I presume you mean "I".' A sarcastic voice said.

Kairi smiled as Krocken approached them, carrying the Safe of Many. 'I thought we were all in this together?'

Krocken snorted but not as viciously as before. 'True… Well here you go.' He opened the safe and Kairi gently put Cinderella's Crystal of Heart in it. Krocken closed the safe, fastening it with locks. 'That's two more to go. You all are doing quite fine and I see you're having no problems dealing with the Horned King's minions.'

'All in a day's work.' Kairi smiled.

Krocken snorted as he put the Safe of Many away. Then he froze, as if something had turned him into ice. 'I sense something, but not on this world. We have to go.'

Kairi frowned and quickly gave Cinderella a hug. 'I'm sorry Cinderella but we have to go now. I will come and visit soon.'

'No worries Kairi dear.' Cinderella smiled. 'Charming and me are happy we were some help. Do come and visit us.'

'I hope you will rescue Sora.' Charming added, placing his hands on Cinderella's shoulders. 'If you need our help, don't hesitate to ask.'

'Thank you and we will.' Kairi smiled and followed Krocken, Goofy and Donald to the Gummi Ship as she waved farewell to Charming and Cinderella. Charming and Cinderella smiled and waved back until their friends were out of sight.

Kairi, Donald and Goofy continued to follow Krocken out of the castle's grounds until they reached the Gummi ship, which was hidden just behind one of the houses. The door opened and Krocken board it and headed straight for the controls. He quickly pressed several buttons until the screen was displayed, showing the entire universe. Kairi, Donald and Goofy joined him.

'What's up Krocken?' Donald asked, panting slightly.

'I sense a dark presence in one of the world.' Krocken replied, not bothering with any sarcasm: his claws tapping loudly on the ship's board. 'It's not the Horned King's but it's also something that posed… There it is!'

The screen showed a world, covered in a dark aura. Despite not being able to see any specific landmarks to identify the world, the party managed to make a miniature black castle with pipes and cranes connected to it. These features were enough for the party to recognise the world.

'It's Radiant Garden!' Kairi gasped. 'Looks like it's being attack by Heartless!'

'Again.' Goofy added.

'If that's true, then Leon and the others needs our help!' Donald said. 'We gotta go there immediately.'

Krocken hesitated then hook his head and answered. 'You're right! Even if the Horned King isn't involved, innocent lives are at stake here! Hang on!'

'Do you even know how to drive…?' Donald asked but got interrupted as Krocken pulled the lever and stepped on the pedal, propelling the Gummi ship off the ground and into the skies. Kairi, Donald and Goofy quickly buckled themselves onto the chairs as Krocken drove the Gummi ship, his feet planted firmly onto the ship's floors. The Gummi ship gained speed and entered hyperspace, leaving the world behind.

Radiant Garden, once ruled by Ansem the Wise and was once known as Hollow Bastion, was at its peak of it recovery. More shops were opened the last time Donald and Goofy were here with Sora and even other facilities such as restaurants or taverns were opened to the residents of Radiant Garden or travelers. No doubt Donald's uncle, Scrooge McDuck who was a billionaire, and his nephews played a part in Radiant Garden new growth. The marketplace was crowded with more people and the heroes had a harder time pushing through the crowd.

'Look how much Radiant Garden had grown. A-hyuk!' Goofy commented.

'Looks like Huey, Dewey and Louie and Uncle Scrooge are doing well for themselves.' Donald said, eyeing every shop they passed.

'Ooohhh!' Kairi squealed as she eyed a ruby necklace on display in a jewellery and cosmetic store. 'That would suit my hair and dress!'

Krocken, who was leading the party, whirled on them. 'Would you guys stop getting distracted with every single detail and focus the problem at hand?' he snapped.

'Sorry.' Kairi apologised, Donald and Goofy also apologised back as Krocken snorted.

'Besides, I have seen bazaars and marketplaces in other worlds bigger than the ones here. There's nothing to be so impressed about.'

'We're just impressed that Radiant Garden had developed so much since our last visit.' Donald defended.

'Yeah!' Goody joined in. 'We helped Tron defeat the Master Controls… Or was Master Computer…'

They were stopped when a small girl landed in front of them. She has pale skin with short black hair with a green headband tied around her head. She wore all black with a sleeveless top and shorts with black sneakers, along with black fingerless gloves. Strapped onto her back was a stainless steel windmill that was as big as her torso.

Yuffie smiled in greeting. 'Kairi, Donald and Goofy! Welcome back to Radiant Garden!' she rushed forward and group hugged the party, Kairi, Donald and Goofy hugging back. Then she let go, grinning at them, as she looked around. 'Who the blue dinosaur? Your pet?'

For the first time in Kairi's experience with Krocken, the blue dinosaur snarled fiercely. Kairi quickly intervened. 'Yuffie, this is Krocken. He has been helping us in our journey to find Sora. He told us that he sensed a dark aura here. What's going on?'

Yuffie's grin fell. 'Wait, Sora is missing? What happened?'

'I'll explain everything when I meet with Leon and the others.' Kairi said. 'Is Maleficent back?'

'We don't know.' Yuffie admitted as she led the group through the busy marketplace. 'Cid found armies of Heartless surrounding Maleficent's old castle and Leon reported that the army is growing everyday. Merlin and Cid are doing what they can to keep the Heartless from running down Radiant Garden but with Cloud and Tifa gone, we're quite short-handed.' Then her smile returned. 'But with you guys here, maybe we can even the odds!'

Kairi smiled back as they exited the market area to the residential area, now passing through many houses. Finally, they reached a house with a sign of a smoking pipe hanging just above a door. Yuffie opened the door and led the party in. Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Krocken stepped into a large room with books and manuscripts scattered all over the floors or stacked in piles. In one corner of the room was a small single-size bed with wooden frames and in the other corner was a staircase that led upstairs. In the middle of the room was a round wooden table with a few chairs and a black iron stove near to it. Opposite to the door was a big computer that showed the entire view of Radiant Garden, as well as outside of it.

The house was already crowded before Yuffie brought the party in. Standing near to the table was a man with short brown hair and a scar across his face. He wore a black coat over a white shirt and black pants with boots and gloves. Next to him was a woman with long brown hair and green eyes. She wore a sleeveless red dress and had a red bowtie on her hair. Sitting in front of the computer was a middle-aged man with short blonde hair and a gaunt face. He wore white tee shirt and blue pants with a brown belt around his waist and boots. Making tea on the stove was an old man with long white beard and blue eyes behind glasses. He wore a blue robe and a wizard's hat along with brown shoes. Fluttering around the houses were three female sprites, floating idly in the air until Kairi, Donald, Goody, Krocken and Yuffie came in.

'Ooooohhhh…' one of the sprites crooned. 'Visitors!'

'Those are not just any visitors!' one of them corrected. 'It's Donald and Goofy.'

'The ones who tricked us into fighting for them.' One of them muttered.

Aerith Gainsborough smiled at the newcomers. 'Kairi, Donald, Goofy, welcome back to Radiant Garden.'

'Isn't it our heroic youngsters?' Cid grinned from his seat. 'What brings you back here?'

'It's good to see you all here.' Leon replied. He turned to Krocken. 'Whose your friend here?'

Before Kairi could answer, Merlin stepped forward and shook Krocken by the claw. 'Ah Krocken, how're you? It's been too long.'

'Indeed it has Merlin.' Krocken greeted back. 'Yensid sent his regards.'

'Yes, yes, he did.' Merlin nodded and turned to everyone. 'This fellow here is Krocken. He's a friend of Mickey and is helping out with a current issue.'

'Well any friend of Kairi is a friend of ours.' Aerith smiled warmly and extended her hand to Krocken. 'Welcome.'

Krocken dipped his head in a bow and shook hands with Aerith, a hint of a smile appearing on his reptilian face.

'We came because Krocken here sense an army of Heartless here.' Kairi told Leon. 'What's going on here?'

'And here I thought that you came because you miss us.' Leon joked and then became serious. 'Everything was going on fine when suddenly our monitors detected a massive army of Heartless just outside of Maleficent's old castle. We had a tough time containing them but with you and Sora… Wait a minute, where is Sora?'

Then as quickly as she could, Kairi explained what happened to Sora, about the Horned King, Vagnar, and her quest of recovering the Crystals of Hearts. Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid and the sprites listened intently at Kairi's tales while Merlin was not surprise, as he knew about it from Yensid. When she was done telling her tale, the house was silent until Leon broke it.

'Wow, you guys are always getting into trouble.' He started off, trying to be light about the situation. 'First is with the Heartless and Xehanort, then with the Organization 13 and now this Horned King.' He frowned. 'If that's the case then maybe this Horned King is leading this army of Heartless against Radiant Garden.'

'I don't think so.' Krocken intervened. 'The presence I'm sensing is not of the Horned King and even if it were, the Horned King have no reason to attack Radiant Garden. It won't benefit him in resurrecting Vagnar.'

'Then it must be Maleficent.' Kairi argued. 'She probably wants to turn the residents of Radiant Garden into Heartless to expand her army.'

'I doubt it.' Merlin said. 'I have sources telling me that when she failed to take the Organization 13's castle on the World that Never Was, she retreated back to the Enchanted Dominion. It is possible that this maybe a random Heartless attack.'

'You know what guys?' Goofy randomly interrupted. 'My guess is that Pete is up to no good.'

Everybody stared at him while Donald face-palmed his face. 'Oh Goofy, don't be ridiculous.'

Then the computer started beeping and Cid turned his attention to the monitors. 'We got something on people!'

Everybody gathered around the monitor. The monitor showed the old castle of Maleficent, just outside of Radiant Garden. The monitor closed in further and it showed the army of Heartless consisting mainly of Armoured Knights, Lance Soldiers, Cannon Guns, Morning Stars, Assault Riders, Surveillance Robots, a dozen Land Armour and a few Stalwart Blades along with three Infernal Engines. The monitor closed further and standing on top of a rock was a big round figure wearing blue and red armour and have a head of a black bulldog. Everybody immediately recognised the figure as Pete, Goofy beaming and nodding in satisfaction. They could hear Pete shouting.

'Onward my Heartless army! Stormed Radiant Garden! Take no prisoners! Once we level the city to the ground, I will become the new king of Radiant Garden!'

Leon cast an amused look to everyone in the room. 'Him? The new king of Radiant Garden? That day might come for a long time.'

'It may come soon.' Aerith said worriedly. 'Although Pete is inept but he does have a large Heartless army, he may take Radiant Garden.'

'Not while I am here!' Kairi said fiercely. 'I may not be Sora but I can still fight! Where do you want me to be?'

Leon looked at her in surprise, not expecting such fierce attitude from Kairi. He turned to Krocken who nodded.

'She may not be as great as Sora but she still can fight.' Krocken replied. 'I watched her improve from Destiny Island and all the way until now.'

Kairi looked at Krocken with a look. 'Is that all the credit you're going to give me?'

Krocken shrugged and asked. 'What's the plan?'

'Ideally.' Leon answered. 'With an army this size those Infernal Engines acting as tanks, it will b a good idea to split into three teams targeting the left flank, the right flank and the centre. Unfortunately.' He gestured around. 'Including you and me there are only six of us doing most of the fighting. We may not have enough to break the siege.'

'Seven if you can count my friend.' Yuffie piped in. 'He should be here…'

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Yuffie opened it. She squealed and happily let in a young man in his twenties with long black hair with a red bandana tied around the fringe and crimson eyes. He wore a red cloak that covered his shoulders and lower face with black attire attached with straps and buckles underneath. On his right thigh was a holster with a revolver in it and his left arm was encased in a golden gauntlet. He stood there silently as Yuffie happily introduced him.

'Everyone! This is Vincent Valentine or Vince for short! He's an old friend of mine and came to Radiant Garden for a visit! I asked him if he can help us with our Heartless problem.'

Vincent nodded. 'I thought I could lend a hand. And I would appreciate if you don't call me Vince.'

'How about Vinnie?' Yuffie grinned.

Vincent sighed. 'Vince it is…'

Yuffie beamed as Leon continued. 'That makes seven of us.'

'Don't forget the sprites.' Goofy added. 'A-hyuk!'

However, the sprites shook their heads. 'No way!' Yuna said with a firm look. 'You haven't paid us the last time we fought for you!'

'Yeah!' Rikku added. 'You meanies trick us!' she pointed at both Donald and Goofy.

'You're on your own now.' Paine added.

'What did you guys do?' Kairi asked, looking at both Donald and Goofy.

'Well…' Goofy began. 'When Maleficent and Organization 13 came here, Donald told the sprites that Leon have treasure and…'

'Goofy!' Donald defended himself. 'I have to tell them something!'

Kairi looked at her friends in disbelief. 'And Sora was okay with that? I don't believe you guys!' Both Donald and Goofy looked ashamed. 'When I get my hands on Sora, I'll…' Kairi stopped herself and took a deep breath before turning to the sprites. 'Here, is this good enough?'

Kairi pulled out her golden necklace she received from the seven dwarves and handed it towards the sprites. The sprites hovered closed it, in awe.

'Ooooohhhh!' Rikku crooned. 'Shiny!'

'It is kinda pretty.' Paine admitted.

'Wow!' Yuna said. 'This is perfect!' she smiled at Kairi. 'Thank you so much! We will fight alongside you.'

The sprites gathered together and gently lifted the necklace from Kairi's hand, Donald and Goofy gasping at her.

'Kairi…' Donald said.

'That's the necklace the dwarves gave you!' Goofy said.

'It's all right.' Kairi said. 'These guys deserved it after they help you protect Radiant Garden.'

Donald looked at Kairi and at the sprites and sighed. He pulled out something and handed it out for the sprites to see. It was the emerald stone that the dwarves gave him.

'Here, this is for last time.'

The sprites squealed as they surrounded the stone.

'You shouldn't have!' Yuna squealed.

'Ooohhhhhhh!' Rikku said in awe, her eyes widening. 'More shinies!'

'Definitely more than enough to pay off your debts to us.' Paine gave a rare smile.

'Then it settled than.' Yuna smiled as Paine and Rikku lifted up the emerald from Donald's hands. 'We will fight alongside Kairi!'

Kairi smiled as Donald sighed deeply. Goofy just scratched his head. 'Wish I hadn't eaten up all those pies.'

'Well it will have to do.' Leon continued, turning to Cid, Merlin and Aerith. 'Cid, make sure our defensive system is online. Merlin, use your magic to make sure no Heartless get pass us. Aerith, stay here and help them in anyway you can.'

'You got it boss.' Cid said and turned back to the computer. Merlin and Aerith nodded.

'Yuffie and I will take the left flank.' Leon said as he turned back to the others. 'Krocken and Vincent will take the right while Kairi, Donald, Goofy and the sprites will take the centre. Let's go people!'

'Yeah!' everyone chorused, except for serious Vincent and Krocken.

Krocken turned to Kairi. 'It's time to put your training to use young key-blade warrior.'

Kairi nodded. 'Right.'

'Wow.' Yuffie said. 'That's quite impressive, even for Pete.'

The defenders were just outside the city as the Heartless army approached them, coming closer to the city limits. They were like a sea of darkness, covering the entire land. The earth rumbled as the three Infernal Engines and the Cannon Guns came closer, firing cannonballs and arrows when they were within range. Behind them were the rest of the Heartless army.

'Let's do this!' Kairi said as she summoned both Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess while the others pulled out their weapons.

'Go!' Leon shouted with gun-blade in his hands.

The defenders went their separate ways as they charged towards the Infernal Engines. Yuffie flung her windmill and knocked the Heartless off the Infernal Engine as Leon destroyed the machine with a single swing with his blade. Krocken pointed his katana at the Infernal Engine and froze it on the spot so it cannot move as Vincent picked off the Heartless with his revolver. Goofy protected his friends from volleys of arrows as Donald sent the cannonballs back towards the Infernal Engine with Gravity, damaging the machine. The sprites flew high into the air and screaming, they dropkicked the Heartless off the machine. Kairi, now have a clear path to the Infernal Engine, demolished the machine with both Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess. Soon, all of the Infernal Engines were eliminated.

The Stalwart Blades gestured towards the city, signalling the other Heartless to charge. Assault Riders led the charge, galloping passed their commanders, followed by the Lance Soldiers and Armoured Knights. Kairi ran forward and dodged the spear of one of the Assault Rider and slashed its side before parrying another spear thrust. Donald and Goofy, helping Kairi out, took out the charging Lance Soldiers with shield bashes and fire spells. The Sprites were with Kairi, distracting and annoying any Heartless who were about to attack Kairi. This gave Kairi many openings to eliminate the Heartless.

After breaking the blunt of the charge, Kairi encountered a Stalwart Blade who slashed at her with both of its blades. Kairi blocked both of the attacks and kicked the Heartless in the stomach, knocking it onto its back. Before the Stalwart Blade could rise, Kairi plunged her key-blades into it: making it fade away and the pink heart floating up. Kairi barely pulled her key-blades out from the ground as two Land Armours converged on her. Without thinking, Kairi jumped high into the air as the two Land Armours slammed their fists onto the ground: causing them to fall forward. As Kairi descended from the air, she slammed her two key-blades into the back of the Land Armours' heads: slaying them immediately.

Kairi stood up and allowed herself to looked around the battlefield as Donald, Goofy and the Sprites joined her. They turned to the right side of the battlefield. They were shocked to see a black demonic beasts with horns and what looked like black flames covering its body attacking the Heartless, ripping apart Land Armours' bodies and decimating Assault Riders. After finishing off a bulk of the Heartless, Kairi and the others were astonished to see the black beast surrounded by darkness and when it dissipated, it revealed Vincent Valentine who calmly aimed his revolver and started firing. Not believing what had just happened, Kairi turned to Krocken who had the same surprise written on his face.

'That's Vincent in chaos form.' Kairi turned to see Yuffie grinning at her. 'It's like a bad version of him but he's still good. Long story.'

Yuffie flung her windmill, taking out several Morning Stars as Leon blasted the last Stalwart Blade with his gun-blade. Kairi and her friends continued onward until the leading unit of the Heartless army were vanquished. Kairi had just slew the last Land Armour before they rendezvous with Leon, Yuffie, Krocken and Vincent, standing before the still large army of darkness. Even though that the Stalwart Blades, Land Armours, Infernal Engines and most of the Morning Stars, Assault Riders and Lance Soldiers were gone, there were still many Surveillance Robots, Armoured Knights and Cannon Guns marching towards them. Worse, the air began to fill with darkness as reinforcement arrived. Now Air Battlers and a dozen Book Masters flew towards them. Standing behind the enormous army was Pete who grinning widely on his bulldog's face. He shouted so that the defenders could hear him.

'AH… IT'S YOU GUYS AGAIN!' he shouted with glee. 'AS YOU CAN SEE, I HAVE A MASSIVE ARMY OF HEARTLESS AT MY BECKONING! YOU BETTER SUBMIT TO THE NEW RULER OF RADIANT GARDEN! IF I'M NICE ENOUGH, I WILL MAKE YOU ALL COURT JESTERS!'

'There's no way I'm going to be some clown for him.' Donald growled.

Leon did not share Donald's light-hearted comment. 'Damn it! There are too many of them! We need to retreat back to the city and let our defences weaken them before…'

'No!' Everybody was surprise at Kairi's reply. 'If we retreat back to the city, the civilians may be in danger! We don't have enough time to evacuate everyone from the city!'

'Then what are you suggesting we do?' Leon asked perplexed. 'We're outnumbered by land and by air. Seven of us are not enough to take them all out!'

Kairi did not answer and turned her attention back to the approaching Heartless army. She opened her mouth.

'Kai Jia.'

Leon, Yuffie, the sprites and even Vincent were amazed as something red materialised on Kairi, shrouding her in red wisps. When the wisps settled down, they could see that Kairi was in red oriental armour with dragon-shaped shoulder pads and helmet attached to it. Radiating from the armour was a crimson light. Even though they cannot see, Kairi closed her eyes and whispered.

'Oh light, thou which is holy. Grant me the strength to protect innocent lives from the darkness. Allow me to serve as an instrument of the light in times of darker times. I humbly ask of this.'

Then the crimson light was replaced by a golden radiant light so bright that the others needed to shield their eyes from the radiance, but they were not so blinded. Kairi opened her eyes and could feel warmth coursing through her body and her exhaustion from the earlier fight were now vanished. Gripping both Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess tightly, Kairi sprinted forward: heading towards the charging Heartless.

'KAIRI!' Donald and Goofy cried together, surprise at Kairi's actions.

The nearest Heartless who came in contact with the light immediately faded away and turned into a pink heart, floating towards the sky, as Kairi slashed her way through the Heartless' ranks. Kairi held her key-blades at her sides, slashing any Heartless that touched the key-blades, while the light eliminated any Heartless who got too close to it. At an impossible speed, Kairi reached the middle of the Heartless army, the Heartless surrounding her and were prepared to charge in on her from both air and land. Kairi merely crossed her key-blades and closed her eyes in silent prayer. Then just as the Heartless closed in on her, she opened her eyes and slid her blades downwards: opening them.

Then light radiated from Kairi and caught every Heartless, stopping their movements. The light expanded from Kairi into a dome where it covered the entire area. Every Heartless were within the dome and light burst, sending radiant light in every directions. Leon, Krocken, Donald, Goofy and the others, shielded their eyes and prepared to brace themselves from the explosion but were surprise that the explosion of light did no harm to them. As the light faded, they slowly uncovered their eyes and they were filled with surprise.

Standing between them and Pete was Kairi, still in her armour and radiating in pure light. The Heartless army that surrounded earlier was nowhere to be seen and the sky were no longer filled with airborne Heartless but with pink hearts that floated into the air before disappearing. Leon and the others walked closer to Kairi, noticing that the land was not damage by the explosion of light. Just as they reached Kairi, her armour disappeared off her but the light remained. She stood there serenely, her eyes closed and hovering slightly with Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess in her hands. She opened her eyes and greeted her friends with a smile.

'Hey guys.'

They all gaped at her. 'That…' Yuffie said. 'Was amazing.'

Kairi smiled and turned to Pete, giving him a fierce look. Pete was gaping at the destruction of his army, his jaws dropping. Then Kairi suddenly strode towards him, with Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess still in her hands. As she got closer, Pete started whimpering and cowering before the redheaded girl, dreading what she will do to him. Kairi stood in front of Pete as the villain trembled before her, wondering whether he will vanish into the light. Kairi opened her mouth and one word came out.

'Boo!'

Hysterical, Pete whirled around and ran back to Maleficent's old castle. He waved his arms pathetically and was screaming in a high-pitched voice.

'MMMMOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYY!'

Everybody laughed as Pete ran, disappearing into a small black dot in the horizon. When Pete was truly gone, the defenders started walking back to Radiant Garden.

'On behalf of the people of Radiant Garden.' Aerith said. 'We thank you for saving us from the Heartless threat.'

After returning from the battlefield, the people of Radiant Garden were so grateful that they threw a party for the defenders. Within short hours, they quickly prepared a feast for the heroes to enjoy, providing entertainment like dancing and bands. Kairi, being the centre of attention, was surrounded by grateful citizens: adults thanking her for saving the city, boys who tried to ask her out for a date and young girls who begged her to teach them how to fight. Embarrassed at first, Kairi converse with everyone who wanted to speak to her as night falls until Leon firmly told them to let the tired Kairi have some rest. Grateful, Kairi allowed Donald and Goofy to lead her back to Merlin's house as fireworks blasted in the night's sky. Kairi just barely entered the house as she fell onto the sleeping mat for her, sleeping immediately.

When she woke up, she found that Merlin was holding up a mug of tea for her as the others checked the monitor, looking for any signs for Pete or any threats from the Heartless. Seeing none and that Radiant Garden was once safe again, Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Krocken have decided to continue on their journey. Now they were just outside of the city, boarding the Gummi ship.

Kairi smiled. 'It was nothing Aerith. I had help from you guys too.'

'But none of us could pull a stunt like that.' Yuffie said. 'Even Vince is impressed.'

The silent Vincent nodded in agreement as Leon continued. 'I agree. With you this strong, I'm sure you will rescue Sora.' He grinned. 'He's going to look embarrass when he finds out that his girlfriend is way stronger and cooler than he is.'

Kairi giggled then turn to Krocken who was speaking. 'At first, I had my doubts about you but seeing you yesterday, I say you have improved in both strength and bravery. You may stopped Vagnar after all.' Kairi nodded her thanks as Krocken continued. 'All right! Let's head to Enchanted Dominion now!'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy voiced their agreement but before they could board, a voice stopped them.

'Kairi! Wait!'

Kairi looked up and saw Yuna, Rikku and Paine flying towards her, carrying something circular in their small hands. When they were above Kairi, they dropped it. Kairi quickly stretched out her hands and caught the object on time, almost pulling both her hands down. She looked down and saw it was her ruby necklace that she gave to the sprites earlier but now the ruby was within two white wings spread in different directions.

'We did some modification to the necklace.' Yuna told her as she, Rikku and Paine hovered down. 'We thought it could help you with your quest.'

'Besides looking shiny.' Rikku beamed. 'It has a summoning spell in it. If you're in trouble, just tap on the ruby and say, "I summon thee" and poof! We will appear!'

'And it is free of charge.' Paine added.

Kairi beamed at the sprites. 'Thank you guys!' She put the necklace around her neck. 'You guys are the greatest!'

The sprites beamed back as Donald stepped forward, coughing to clear his throat. 'So… Does that mean I get my emerald back.'

'Nah!' Yuna said as Rikku stuck her tongue at him. 'We're keeping the emerald as payment for both last time and yesterday.'

Donald started throwing a tantrum. 'Quack! Why you little…'

'Come on Donald.' Goofy quickly said as he steered Donald back into the Gummi Ship. 'I'm sure we can find more gems in other worlds…'

Donald's shouting became dampened in the city as Krocken and Kairi said their farewell to Leon and the others. 'Farewell, we will visit again someday.' Kairi said.

'Farewell.' Leon said. 'Safe trip and bring Sora here the next time you come.'

Kairi smiled. 'I will.'

Kairi and Krocken boarded the ship and the door closed behind them. Soon, the Gummi ship was airborne and when it was far above the ground, the Gummi ship zoomed upwards through the clouds and into the sky. Leon and the others waved their hands in farewell as the Gummi ship disappeared from their sight.


	14. Alliance of Good and Evil

Kairi yawned and stretched as she woke up, rubbing the sand out from her eyes. Smacking her lips, she grabbed the glass of water on her table and gulped the cool fluid down. She set the glass down and sleepily made her way towards her bathroom. She brushed her teeth, showered and put on new clothes before heading out of her room. She can still hear Donald and Goofy still snoring in their bedrooms as she headed towards the cockpit. She was surprised to see a blue dinosaur steering the wheel of the Gummi Ship.

Krocken grunted as Kairi walked up to him. 'I see you're awake.'

'How observant you are.' Kairi traded back a dry comment. 'Can't sleep?'

Krocken gave a reptilian shrug. 'How can I if you lot are snoring like pit bulls? Your snoring was as loud as a walrus.'

Kairi smiled. 'Everyone snores, whether they are men or women. It's your fault for having sensitive ears.'

Krocken gave her a withering look. 'You're not as easily provoke then before.'

Kairi smile widened. 'You have run out of good insults.'

Before Krocken could retort, the scanner alerted them to a world close by. Krocken pushed a button and world appeared onto the screen. He frowned as he and Kairi noticed it was shrouded in darkness.

'You better wake up those two sleepy heads.' Krocken told Kairi. 'It's going to be a rough landing.'

Kairi nodded as she rushed into the bedroom which Donald and Goofy. On a double-decker bed, Donald was sleeping at the bottom while Goofy took the top. She gently shook them until they groggily woke up, yawning widely.

'Watsgoinon?' Donald asked sleepily.

'We're heading towards another world and this one got Heartless all over it.' Kairi told them. 'Geared up boys, I think we're going to fight as soon as we land.'

'A-hyuk!' Goofy said. 'Business as usual!'

Donald moaned as he rolled off his bed. 'Isn't the Battle at Radiant Garden enough?'

Kairi shrugged and head back to the cockpit, leaving Donald and Goofy to fight over who get to use the bathroom first.

'Archers! In position!' Prince Philip shouted, armed with sword and shield. 'Pikemen, make sure that those things do not get into the castle!'

The battlements of the castle was filled with activity as armoured soldiers ran up and down the ramparts, either getting into defensive positions or carrying logs to throw at any attackers. The archers were already firing off arrows while soldiers wielding swords and pikes jabbed at the enemy: Heartless Armoured Knights. The air was filled with Air Battlers and Bolt Towers swooping down on the castle's defenders or firing lightning bolts. Besides the Armoured Knights, Lance Soldiers, Soldiers, Large Armours and Morning Stars rushed into the castle to collide with the defenders. Outside were three Infernal Engines and Jumbo Cannons, bombarding the castle's ramparts with cannonballs and flaming arrows. The castle was heavily under siege.

Prince Philip blocked three arrows with his long shield and cut down one of the Air Battlers, sending its heart floating into the air. His red cape flapping in the air, Philip turned to survey the battlefield. His men were outnumbered and were soon being overwhelmed by the Heartless horde. Before he could do anything else, something big flew down from the clouds and was heading towards the castle. Fearing it was a colossus Heartless, he was astonished to see it was a red flying carriage. The door of the flying carriage opened and out jumped a red-haired girl, a dog and a duck. His surprise widened as he recognised the swords in the girl's hands: it were key-blades.

The duck shouted something a purple forcefield appeared before them, slowing down their descent. The girl, however, sped towards to one of the Infernal Engines and slammed into it. When the dust settled, the girl was on her feet and a giant pink heart floated into the sky. The girl quickly ran through the ranks of the Heartless army, cutting down the Jumbo Cannons, as she made her way to another Infernal Engine. As the dog and the duck kept the Heartless at bay, the girl drove her two key-blades into the war machine. She sliced an opening and entered the machine, coming out from the other side. The Infernal Engine started to fade away, leaving a pink heart in the air, as the girl took on two Large Armours.

The red flying carriage was not sitting idle either. Philip watched as the carriage fired transparent arrows from what looked like metallic ballistae at the Bolt Towers, obliterating them into dark wisps and floating pink hearts. The archers cheered and focussed their aims on the Air Battlers, shooting down numbers of them. Back onto the ground, the girl had taken down the two Large Armours while the duck and the dog helped out at the castle's gates. The girl pointed one of her key-blade at the Infernal Engine and an arrow of light shot out from the tip of the key-blade. When it hit into the Infernal Engine, the machine shuddered and started fading away: leaving another pink heart floating into the air.

With the Heartless' siege engines destroyed, the castle defender's spirit rose and renews their fight with the remaining invaders. The Heartless number were slowly dwindling as the three newcomers joined in the fight, attacking the Heartless on two sides. The pikemen stabbed at the last Morning Star and the newcomers finished off all the soldiers, leaving the air filled with dark wisps and floating pink hearts. When all of the Heartless were gone, the defenders cheered and thanked the newcomers for coming to their aid. The newcomers smiled and waved back as the defenders clapped for them.

Philip sighed with relief and smiled down at the newcomer from the battlements. Before he could go down and greet the newcomers, someone approached him from behind. Philip smiled at the woman with long blond hair, red full lips and indigo eyes. She was fair-skinned and her face was beautiful and gentle. She wore a long-sleeved, strapless blue dress that reached all the way to the floor and with white collars. On her golden head was a golden crown and there was a golden necklace around her neck.

Aurora looked at Philip. 'Is it over Philip?'

'It's my beloved.' Philip smiled tiredly, fatigued from the siege. 'And guess who came to the rescue.'

Aurora frowned at Philip's gesture towards the ground. She peeked over the battlements and her eyes widened with surprise and a smile appeared on her face.

'It's Kairi, Donald and Goofy!' she exclaimed excitedly. She grabbed Philip by the hand. 'Hurry! We must go and greet them!'

Aurora puled Philip down the battlements to meet her friends.

* * *

'Thank you for the assistance.' Philip smiled warmly as he bowed to Kairi. 'If it weren't for your aid, the Heartless would have overwhelmed us.'

After the battle, Prince Philip's soldiers were tending to the wounded and putting the castle back into order. With the castle heavily sieged, many of the defenders had fallen and their comrades have the grim tasks of burying the dead. However, they were aware that the Heartless' threat was not over and this was only one of the skirmishes. The men quickly barricaded the gate while more arrows and logs were stored on the battlement, ready to be used.

Kairi smiled as she bowed back. 'We did what anyone would do.' she then hugged Aurora. 'It's so good to see you again Aurora.'

Aurora smiled and hugged Kairi back. 'Me too. You have changed so much, both in appearance and strength.'

Kairi grinned at the compliment before becoming serious. 'What's going on? When did the Heartless started attacking.'

'For the entire week.' Prince Philip replied. 'At first it started off with small skirmishes just outside of the castle, endangering the common folks. So I sent regular patrols to deal with the troubles. The next thing we knew that there was a giant army of Heartless amassing outside the castle. This is the fourth time they attack and would have overtaken us if it weren't for your comely arrival.'

Kairi frowned and turned to Krocken. 'Is it possible that the Horned King is behind this attack to capture Aurora and her Crystal of Hearts?'

Before Krocken could answer, Aurora interrupted. 'Someone wants to capture me? What is this Crystal of Heart?'

Very quickly, Kairi explained to Philip and Aurora about the Horned King and Vagnar, Sora's abduction, and her quest on recovering the seven Crystal of Hearts. As Kairi told them her plight with no shed tears this time, Aurora put her hands to her mouth while Philip frowned.

'Are you saying that we're attacked by a new enemy? And here I thought it was Maleficent again.'

'Maleficent?' Kairi, Donald and Goofy chorused together. Even Krocken's eyes widened with surprise.

'You didn't know?' Philip asked in surprise. 'Maleficent's castle is at the North from here. It was she who caused Aurora to sleep for hundred years until I rescue her.'

'I didn't know that she lives in this world.' Kairi said in astonishment. 'If she's in charge of this Heartless army then we have to stop her right away.'

'Careful Kairi.' Aurora cautioned her. 'The forest is full of dangers and her castle is well defended.'

'We will hold out the castle if the Heartless returns again.' Philip offered. 'I wish you all a safe journey.'

Kairi nodded. 'We will be back as soon as we can. Stay safe.'

Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Krocken left the castle as Philip bellowed more orders to his men.

* * *

'A castle fit for an evil fairy.' Donald observed. 'And I thought her castle in Radiant Garden was bad enough.'

After walking through the forest for hours, the party finally reached a desolated place where the greens of the forests turned to deathly barren lands. Green fire erupted from cracks in the ground and the sky was dark, with lightning bolts flashing occasionally. A barren path led all the way up to he dark castle with sharp spires shooting up into the sky and black as night. It stood on a hill, forbidding and unwelcoming.

'Whether it's bad or not, we must go see Maleficent.' Krocken firmly said, taking the lead up to the castle. Before they had gone further, he added. 'Be cautious.'

The others nodded as they pulled out their weapons, their eyes scanning for any threats that could pop up at any second. So far, they made it to the gates without any hindrance. Both of Krocken and Kairi had to put their weapons away in order to push the massive wooden door, causing a loud creak to echo across the castle's hall. The party entered the castle carefully, wary of any threats or enemy lurking about.

As they ventured deeper into the castle, they saw that the castle was in disrepair. Rubble was all over the floor, broken furniture lying around, torn up tapestry and chandeliers hanging crooked on the ceiling. They opened another door, revealing to be the throne room. It was a circular room with a crumbled throne leaning against the walls. Torn tapestry draped from the ceilings and bricks on the floor were jutting out. Maleficent's throne room was empty and silent.

Until.

'Well if it isn't Kairi, the seventh Princess of Heart, and Donald and Goofy. That blue dinosaur must be Krocken.'

The party whipped around, weapons in hands, as they turned to face Maleficent. She wore a black robes with two black curved horns jutting out from her head. Her face was pale green with evil eyes and smile. In her hand was a long staff with a green eye on the top. Maleficent's smile widened at the sight of Kairi and her friends gripping onto their weapons and watching her warily.

'Calm down dearies.' She told them. 'I'm not here to fight.'

This did not make the party let their guards down. 'Then why did you sent your Heartless army to attack Aurora and Philip?' Kairi asked.

Maleficent raised an eyebrow. 'So that's what this is all about. And here I thought you just came to pay me a friendly visit.' Maleficent step forward, leaning onto her staff. 'Sorry to disappoint you but I did not order an attack on the castle, no matter how tempting it is.'

'How do we know you're not bluffing us?' Goofy asked.

Maleficent sighed and gestured around her castle. 'In case you haven't noticed, this castle would had been filled with Heartless and you will be having a tough time even getting into my throne room. Tell me truly, does it never occur to you that not a single Heartless hinder you on the way here?'

Realizing that Maleficent spoke the truth, the party lowered their weapons but still on their guard for any trickery. 'Then what about Pete attacking other worlds?' Kairi asked. 'Was he under your order?'

Maleficent snorted with derision. 'After my loss at The World that Never Was, that buffoon took what Heartless was under his command and went on a rampage. I assumed you heroes stopped him.'

Kairi nodded slowly. 'Then what are you doing here? And what happened to the Heartless under your control?'

Maleficent walked towards her throne and sat on it, despite the crumbling state it was in. 'After the Organization 13 was defeated, I took the chance to take control of the Heartless again but little did I know that the Horned King have already taken possession of my Heartless army.' She sighed. 'Now I'm here, wandering my castle and reminiscing myself in my former glory.' She stood up from her throne and walked towards the party. 'To be honest, I was hoping to speak with Sora. Only he can help me with this situation. So where is he?'

Kairi's eyes lowered and she tried to lie but she could not. She did not need to. Maleficent smiled, a little sad. 'I see, the Horned King abducted him in order to awaken that abomination he called "Master". Pity.' Maleficent studied Kairi closely. 'Well… I have heard rumors of you darling. I suppose you can take over Sora's place.'

Kairi looked up at the evil fairy. 'What?'

Maleficent's smile returned. 'I may… Indirectly help you in your quest, but you must do something for me in return.'

'No way!' Donald interjected before Kairi could response. 'There's no way we're helping…'

Krocken stopped him from saying anymore by placing a reptilian claw on his head, asking. 'What do you want us to do?'

'You assume that because the Horned King was my former subordinate that he have some control over the Heartless but I tell you now, that is not true. He is using a magical gem, the Gem of Obedience, to control all the Heartless in the universe. Destroy the gem and his hold of the Heartless will vanquish. I will take this opportunity to wrest control of the Heartless army and will use them to take over The World that Never Was. This way, you won't have any Heartless to hinder you and I have another world to rule. Does that sound fair?'

Kairi was stunned for words. Here was an enemy offering a hand in her quest. She was at a lost to what to say until Krocken spoke.

'Do you mind if we have a consultation between us first?'

'Take all the time you need.' Maleficent replied, turning her back on them.

Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Krocken formed a circle and began whispering urgently to each other.

'What do you think?' Kairi asked. 'Do you think we should trust her?'

'I don't know.' Donald replied. 'She might be tricking us.'

'Yeah!' Goofy nodded his head then became thoughtful. 'Although, she and Pete did helped us out at that time when we were facing Xemnas.'

'That because she wanted the castle all to herself Goofy!' Donald argued. 'She only interested in helping herself.'

'What do you think Krocken?' Kairi turned to the dinosaur.

Krocken looked amused. 'Never thought you ask me for an opinion.' Then he became serious. 'With the Heartless bearing down on us, we can't risk being delayed any further. With the Heartless out of the way, the Horned King will be vulnerable but it's a risk we have to take.'

Kairi closed her eyes and began thinking furiously. Maleficent was the leader of the Heartless Army and one of the most powerful villains Sora had to face. Giving her back her army would renew the threat again. However, the bigger threat right now was the Horned King and Vagnar. If they can cut down the Horned King's forces then maybe it will help them a lot. Sure it will give Maleficent two worlds, maybe three, to rule but at least that better than some giant monster terrorizing the universe.

Kairi opened her eyes and spoke. 'I think we should help Maleficent out. We will be weakening the Horned King's power. And I'm willing take a risk with Maleficent.'

Donald and Goofy reacted with surprise and Donald wanted to protest but cannot denied that helping Maleficent will also be helping them. Krocken nodded his reptilian head, approving of Kairi's decision. They turned back to Maleficent who was facing them again.

'Very well Maleficent, we will help you.' Kairi said. 'Where is this magical gem?'

Maleficent smiled. 'I knew we will reached an understanding. The Gem of Obedience is in the East of this castle. Its being guarded by a powerful Heartless.' Maleficent thumped her staff onto the floor, her staff glowing green. 'I will teleport you as close to it as possible but I cannot promise you whether you will be in a safe location or not. Good luck.'

The group nodded, still looking uneasy, as green smoke enveloped them. Maleficent and the throne room disappeared from their sight as the green smoke surrounded them. When the green smoke lifted, they found themselves in the forest once again. Tall trees and blue sky greeted them: a welcome sight from the ruined castle of an evil sorceress.

Goofy breathed in deeply. 'It's good to be out in the open again. Was getting kinda stuffy in there.'

'Now all we need to do is to find this gem and destroy it.' Kairi said as she looked around. 'Problem is that Maleficent didn't give us the exact location.'

'Shouldn't be a problem if you have a snout like mine.' Krocken declared. He pointed his snout into the air and took a sniff. Then he gestured with his head. 'This way.'

With Krocken leading the way, the group followed him through the heavy forest until they reached a cave. The cave was at the outskirt of the forest. Inside of the cave was deep and dark, painting a malicious look. The group pulled out their weapons as they slowly entered the cave, wary for any Heartless. With the light illuminating from her key-blades, the party had enough light to see through the cave. They had not gone far when they reached the end of the cave. They were surprise at what awaited them at the end of their journey.

There was a stone pedestal with ancient runes carved into them horizontally and on that pedestal was an illuminating green gem, just a normal oval shape. It was giving off a blinding green light and had a powerful magical aura surrounding it. Guarding the Gem of Obedience was a giant humanoid Heartless with red pointed horns jutting upwards along with small black horns pointing sideways. There were two bat-wings attached to its back and at the end of its tail was an axe-blade. In its right hand was a sword in the color of fiery red. The Heartless was hovering just above the ground and underneath it was an infinite of darkness with glowing yellow eyes.

Jiminy Cricket popped out from Kairi's hoodie and whispered. 'That's an Orcus! The most powerful Heartless we ever encountered!'

'With dozen or so Novashadows along with it.' Krocken muttered as the darkness turned to Heartless with claws and tentacles on their heads.

'Looks like the Horned King isn't leaving any expenses when guarding a powerful item.' Kairi observed as she readied Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess. 'This is going to be a tough fight.'

Donald nodded as he pointed his wand, Goofy pulling up his shield as well. 'Let's do this.'

The Orcus roared and pointed its sword at the party, immediately all of the Novashadows pounced on the group. Kairi and Krocken brought their blades out and cut down any Novashadows that were in the way, making them fade away. Donald yelled spells after spells, electrocuting or freezing any Novashaodows in mid-air while Goofy crushed them when they hit the ground. Despite taking down most of the Heartless, more Novashadows jumped out from the darkness: ready to overcome the group by superior number.

Kairi grunted as she slashed three Novashadows with Bear Princes. 'This isn't working! We need to take down the Orcus!'

Krocken growled as he reached out his reptilian hands, freezing dozens of Novashadows with an ice spell. 'I agree! I'll cover you!'

Kairi nodded and sprinted pass the advancing darkness, slicing down as many Novashadows as she can. As Kairi made her way further into the enemy's lines, Krocken cast ice spells on any Heartless that were about to pounce on her. As Kairi got closed to the Orcus, she put all her weight on the balls of her right foot. She then jumped into the air and brought Bear Princess down on the Orcus' sword, pushing the giant Heartless down towards the ground. The Orcus growled and pushed Kairi away, sending back flipping onto her feet.

As soon as she touched the ground, she swirled like a whirlwind: slicing down two more Novashadows. She stopped spinning and brought her two key-blades in order to block the Orcus' attack. Being stronger than she, the Orcus pushed Kairi backwards until Kairi pushed the giant sword aside and slashed the Orcus' thigh. The Orcus did not make a sound as the wound on its thigh sealed up almost immediately and it renewed its attack on Kairi, forcing the redhead to duck the blade. Kairi dodged the attack and thrust both her key-blades into the back of the Orcus. The Heartless screamed in pain and swung its sword into Bear Princess, sending Kairi stumbling sideway.

Kairi quickly braced herself and stepped aside as the Orcus' blade slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave that almost knocked Kairi off her feet. She quickly backed away as the Orcus swung its sword again; the red blade almost touching Kairi's abdominal. Kairi had to jump back, avoiding the Orcus' attacks at all cost. She was backed into something and glancing over her shoulders, it was the pedestal that was holding the Gem of Obedience. Kairi turned back to see the Orcus before her, its sword raised into the air. The Orcus narrowed its yellow glowing eyes as it prepared to bring its sword down on Kairi.

'If I can't out-fight you.' Kairi muttered. 'Then I can out-smart you.'

The Orcus roared and brought it sword down on Kairi but before the blade could crush the redhead, Kairi stepped aside and the sword slammed into the gem. Kairi went onto the ground as the gem shuddered violently and without warning, exploded with a powerful light. Kairi could hear the screams of the Orcus and the Novashadows and the surprised gasps from her friends as the light enveloped them.

As soon as the light faded, Kairi slowly opened her eyes and to her relied, her friends were all right. She slowly stood up and looked around the cave. Not a single Heartless was in sight and on the pedestal was a burnt mark where the Gem of Obedience used to be.

Kairi's key-blades disappeared from her hands as Krocken approached her, wearing a rare reptilian smile. 'Using the Orcus' sword to destroy the Gem of Obedience, I must say I'm impressed.'

'Thanks.' Kairi smiled. 'Your compliments are becoming nicer nowadays.'

'Don't let it get into your head.' Krocken snorted then his head whipped towards the entrance of the cave. 'Hello, looks like something is going outside.'

The party hurried out of the cave and before them was a mist of green smoke forming a shape. Soon Maleficent appeared before them, smiling with glee.

'Yes! Yes!' she cried triumphantly. 'I can feel the Horned King's control of the Heartless weakening!' she pointed her staff towards the sky and cried out. 'To me minions of the Darkness! Come as your mistress beckoned!'

As she finished her words, she was surrounded by darkness. The party can see the darkness forming into Shadows and Neoshadows, their numbers increasing rapidly. With a smile, Maleficent waved her staff in a circular movement and a portal appeared before her. The party looked into the portal and they saw features of The World that Never Was, former headquarters of the Organization 13 and Maleficent new target.

'Come soldiers of darkness!' Maleficent cried, pointing towards the new world. 'Conquer this world for your mistress and let my influence spread!'

The armies of Shadows and Neoshadows slowly poured into the portal, heading into the World that Never Was. As her army marched into the new world, Maleficent turned to the group.

'Like I promise, I will leave this world and will never bother Aurora and Philip ever again.' Maleficent told them. 'I wish you luck in your quest and I hope you destroy the Horned King like the vermin he is.'

'That's the plan.' Kairi told her. 'But let me warn you, the first thing we hear any troubles with the Heartless and we will come after you.'

Maleficent smirked and dipped her head mockingly. 'I will keep that in mind.' Before she stepped into the portal, she turned her head to the group again. 'I take it you have collected most of the Crystals of Hearts?' The group, surprised at Maleficent's knowledge of the Crystals of Hearts, just nodded. The evil witch continued. 'A small piece of advise if you heed it. The Crystals of Hearts are not the only way to wake Vagnar. I believe that the Horned King have possession of another key.'

Before Krocken or Kairi could ask her what she meant, Maleficent stepped into the portal and the portal closed on her. The group was left with the puzzlement of Maleficent's words.

* * *

'What does she means?' Kairi asked Krocken after many hours of silence.

The party was now walking back to Philip's castle, in silence despite their recent victory. The party was puzzling about Maleficent's advice concerning the Horned King possessing another key to wake his master. Even the sarcastic Krocken looked troubled.

'To be frank with you all, I've no idea what she means.' Krocken admitted finally. 'To my knowledge, only the seven Crystals of Hearts and the heart of a key-blade master can awaken Vagnar. I can't think of anything else.'

'Maybe Maleficent is just saying that just to confuse us.' Goofy suggested.

Kairi frowned. 'I don't think so Goofy. Maleficent wanted the Horned King destroyed as much as we do. If she's confusing us, then won't that make it harder for us to stop the Horned King?'

Before any of them could say anything, two riders approached them. Philip and Aurora dismounted and ran towards the group, greeting them.

'Are you all right?' Philip asked. 'We searched everywhere for you, even Maleficent's castle but you weren't there.'

'We were worried that something bad happened to you.' Aurora explained. 'So after we checked up on our defenses, we rode as fast as we could to find you guys.'

'So what happened?' Philip asked. 'Where's Maleficent?'

Kairi brought herself out from her troubled mind and smiled. 'She will trouble you no longer. She has already move on.'

Kairi told Philip and Aurora about helping Maleficent and how she used her power to transport all of the Heartless army to The World that Never Was. When she was done explaining, Philip and Aurora exchanged disbelief glances: unable to connect the Maleficent who put Aurora to sleep for hundred of years to the Maleficent that helped their friends.

'I never thought that Maleficent would be so willing to help.' Philip said. 'I always thought her evil.'

'Maybe she isn't so evil as we thought.' Aurora whispered. 'I'm glad she kept to her words.'

'But is it all right to let her conquer another world?' Philip asked Kairi.

Kairi grimaced. 'It maybe a danger in the future but stopping Vagnar from resurrecting is important right now. If Maleficent cause any trouble then we will deal with her.'

'I suppose you have no choice.' Philip agreed, a bit worried. Then his worry subsided as he looked around the forest. 'I remember this place, it was where I first met Aurora.'

Aurora looked around and beamed. 'You're right. My gosh, it's been so long!'

Philip grinned as he took Aurora's hands. 'Remember the first time we met?'

Aurora giggled. 'How can I not? It was love at first sight.'

'When I first saw you, I thought you would be my princess.' Philip continued.

'And you my knight in shining armor.' Aurora smiled.

Their face were closed to each other, oblivious with Kairi, Krocken, Donald and Goofy. Then without thinking, they kissed gently on the lips. They kissed for a long time and as soon as their lips parted, a light glowed between them. Surprised, Philip and Aurora stepped back as the light glowed blighter. Then as soon as it appeared, the light dimmed and it revealed an orange crystal shaped like a sewing needle. It hovered in the air and it slowly dropped into Aurora's hands. Aurora gasped.

'It's so pretty.' She said. 'So this is a Crystal of Heart. I never thought I'll have something so beautiful.' She admired it for some time before handing the Crystal of Hearts to Kairi. 'Here you are Kairi. I hope this crystal helped you in rescuing Sora. It's the only way we repay for not saving our land but also ridding us of evil.'

'It's the least we can do.' Philip added.

'Thank you.' Kairi said gratefully, taking the crystal from Aurora and handing it to Krocken. 'Now we have one left to locate. I hope we can get there before the Horned King stopped us.'

Philip nodded. 'We understand. Come visit us once everything is settled.'

'We will welcome you with open arms.' Aurora smiled.

'Your vehicle is in the castle.' Philip told the party. 'My men are washing it. By the time we get back, it will be clean and sparkling so your departure.'

'Thank you so much.' Kairi told them. 'We better head back to the castle.'

They all nodded and Aurora and Philip mounted their horses, leading their way back to the castle. The party was about to follow them when they noticed that Krocken was not following them, standing by himself in deep thought.

'You're not coming Krocken?' Kairi asked.

Krocken shook his head. 'I'm concerned about Maleficent's words just now. I need to consult with Yensid. Maybe he knows what Maleficent meant.' He placed Aurora's Crystal of Hearts in the Vault of Many. 'You guys head to Destiny Island and collect your Crystal of Heart. With his forces dwindling, the Horned King will be more desperate to get hold of the last Crystal of Heart.'

Kairi nodded. 'We will go there as fast as we can. Safe travels Krocken.'

Krocken nodded. 'And safe travels to you too… My friends.'

Krocken turned onto his heels and sprinted deep into the woods, disappearing from Kairi's sight. Kairi, Donald and Goofy quickly followed after Philip and Aurora. They need to get back to Destiny Island as soon as possible. If Krocken was this agitated, then there will be troubles awaiting them when Kairi get home.


	15. A New World

**Searching for You Part 14**

Kairi took a deep breath of the sea-salt air once she stepped out from the Gummi ship. It had been a long time since she had been hime on Destiny Island and yet everything was still the same. From the island, she can see the fishermen trawling through the water for fish: either for tonight's dinner or to sell tomorrow at the market. She assumed her friends and neighbours were following their daily routines. Nothing had changed since she was gone.

Except for one thing: Sora and Riku, her two best friends, were not on the island.

Donald and Goofy suggested to Kairi that she should take this opportunity to go see her friends and family again but she thought otherwise. I can see bear to tell Sora and Riku's mothers what had happened to their sons?

So Kairi had steered the Gummi ship to the island where they will meet, careful not to let anyone see the ship as she landed onto the beach. Now she, Donald and Goofy were on the island: taking in the sunset.

'It's so beautiful.' Kairi sighed, feeling relieved despite the current situation. 'I wish I could just sit here and bask in the warm sun.'

'Yeah…' Goofy agreed as he lay on his back in the sand, stretching and yawning. Donald scowled.

'Goofy! Get up! The Horned King could be here waiting to grab hold of Kairi's Crystal of Hearts!'

'Gosh Donald…' Goofy said as he slowly rose from the sand. 'Do you think the Horned King will still come? Especially after we destroyed his forces?'

'You never know.' Donald said. 'I wouldn't pass the Horned King to give up that easily. For all we know, he could have an army of…'

'Squirrels? A-hyuk!'

As Donald lectured to Goofy about the seriousness of the situation, Kairi looked around and could remember the day she, Sora and Riku planned to leave Destiny Island. She could remember everything as if it was only yesterday. She was waking up Sora from his nap as Riku was done with the raft. She smiled as she remembered Sora sprinting forward to gather up supplies for their trip. After their preparation was done, they sat on then paupu tree to watch the sunset. That night when they all went home, their island was attack by Heartless and so began Sora's searching for her. Kairi smiled sadly that it was now the other way round.

Her reminiscing, however, told her where she needed to go.

'You guys stay here.' Kairi told Donald and Goofy. 'I will be right back.'

'Where are you going?' Donald asked, worried. 'Shouldn't we be finding your Crystal of Heart?'

'In a moment.' Kairi answered. 'There's… Somewhere that I need to go alone.'

Donald finally nodded and turned his attention back to Goofy who was already building a small sandcastle. Kairi made her way across the beach, taking her time to take in the beautiful scenery, to the caverns. It was not long before she reached the caverns, careful not to hit her head on the ceiling. She slowly climbed down the stone steps.

Kairi reached the bottom and a wave of memory slammed into her. She stood in a cave with stalactites hanging down from the ceiling, the only source of illumination were the fireflies flying around them in circles. It was a small cave with nothing of interest to it. Except for what was on the wall.

Kairi smiled as she came closer to the walls. She saw the cave drawing of Sora and herself giving each other paopu fruits, their mouths opened. She knelt down and touch the cave-drawing, smiling at the memory.

'Oh Sora…' she whispered, tears filling to the brim. 'You had drawn this when we were separated to every corner of the universe. Despite the danger and suffering, you still went looking for me. And again, when I was kidnapped by the Organisation 13, you still came for me.' she smiled, tears now flowing down her cheeks. 'You maybe an idiot but you're my special idiot. I love you Sora. Please… Be safe.'

She closed her eyes, imagining herself and Sora dancing together. Their lips touching and his warmth embracing her. Just simply being together with him was bliss. Kairi wanted to continue to daydream her time with Sora but a blinding light forced her eyes to open slowly. She gasped as a red glowing crystal floated in front of her, giving out a powerful aura. Made out of the reddest ruby, the crystal was shaped as a paopu fruit: bright red lines running in five different directions from the middle.

Knowing it was her Crystal of Heart, Kairi lifted her hands and the Crystal fell onto her hands. Unlike the other Crystal of Hearts, her one had an effect on her. Kairi gasped softly as a warm feeling course through her veins. It felt as if it was Sora embracing her, holding her tight. Kairi slowly closed her eyes again, enjoying the feeling until the moment passed. She opened her eyes again, waiting for Krocken to make his appearance. She waited and waited but there was no sign of the blue dinosaur.

Kairi frowned. Krocken was always here when a Crystal of Heart appeared. It was not like him to not appear.

Kairi was still wondering of Krocken's absence when she suddenly heard shoutings and clashing of metal. Making sure she put her Crystal of Heart in her pouch, Kairi rushed out of the cavern to the sound of the noise. When she exit the caverns, her running slowed down, as she looked what was going around her.

The blue sky that was the norm on Destiny Island became dark with black clouds swirling out of control and the sea that was always calm turned and rolled violently. Before her were Donald and Goofy with their wand and shield raised, defending each other backs. Surrounding and towering them were three Darksides. Giant Heartless with dark tendrils covering their face except for the eyes with root-like feet and long arms. In the middle of their chests was a hold shaped of a heart. Snarling, they swung and slashed at her friends using their overlarge claws.

With a cry, Kairi ran towards the fight: Destiny's Embrace and Bear Princess in her hands. Before one of the Darkside could bring it arm down on Goofy, Kairi swung both her key-blades in an X swing: appearing in front of the Heartless in a flash. The Darkside was still for a moment before it fell backwards, fading into darkness and leaving a pink heart to float upwards. Kairi turned her attention to the other two remaining Darksides, Donald and Goofy at her sides.

'Thanks for the save Kairi. A-hyuk!' Goofy grinned as he threw his shield at a Darkside, smacking it on the head.

'I knew it!' Donald growled, firing fireballs at another Darkside. 'Maleficent betrayed us! I knew we shouldn't had helped her in the first place!'

Kairi frowned as she parried an attack. 'Let's get ourselves alive before placing any blame.'

Kairi sprinted forwards and cut off a Darkside's arm, making it roared in anguish and trying to smash Kairi with it other claw. Before the claw could reach Kairi, it was knocked aside by Goofy shield. As the giant Heartless recoiled from the shield throw, Kairi shouted at Goofy to give her a boost. Goofy nodded and knelt down, cupping his hands together. Kairi jumped onto his hands and Goofy pushed her up into the air. Kairi swirled in the air with both her key-blades pointed out like a spearhead.

Kairi then drove through the Darkside like a drill, creating another hole in its chest. The Darkside cried out in agony and slowly faded away, leaving only a pink heart to float upwards. The heart reached the sky as Kairi landed onto her feet. Kairi did not stopped as she headed for her next target.

Donald had kept the last Darkside in check with multiple ice and fire spells, immobilising it. Roaring in frustration, the Darkside clasped it claws together and brought it down towards Donald. Donald let put a terrified quack and dodged, the Darkside's fist slamming onto the beach and sending sand flying everywhere. Before the Darkside could bring back its fists or the sand could settle, Kairi leaped onto the wrist of the Heartless and ran up the arm. When she reached the forearm, she leaped again and flew towards the head. She gave out her battle-cry as she plunged Destiny's Embrace into the Darkside's forehead.

The Darkside gave a scream of agony before falling backwards, prompting Kairi to jump back onto the sand. As she landed onto her feet, the Darkside faded away and like its other brethren, left a pink heart to float upwards. When both the Darkside and its heart disappear, Kairi straightened up while Goofy helped Donald onto his feet. However, none of them relaxed as the darkness overwhelming Destiny Island had not subsided despite the defeat of the Heartless.

' **You have grown little girl…'**

Kairi, Donald and Goofy turned to where the voice came from. Dread filled them as the Horned King stood before them. Like before, he wore the same worn out red-brown robes with a black cape attached to it. His skeletal face gleamed despite the darkness and his horns jutted out from his head. His yellow eyes with burning pupils glared at her and her friends.

' **Little girl…'** he snarled. ' **You have destroyed my three best soldiers and taken away my Heartless army. You will pay dearly for this meddling…'**

Once, Kairi would have been frozen in her place. Now she was not afraid and only righteous anger filled her. 'It's all over you skeleton bastard! Your little plan is foiled! You have no army! Just give back Sora and I will let you off easy!'

The Horned King threw back his skeletal head and laughed. ' **Foolish little girl! My plan has just begun! My master, the great Vagnar will be resurrected and your beloved will be the key of his awakening!'**

Furious, Kairi cried out and charged: both her key-blades in her hands. She leaped into the air and brought both her key-blades onto the Horned King, only to meet resistance. Kairi pushed herself back and landed onto her feet as the Horned King sword blocked her attack. The sword was black in colour with a golden hilt shaped in a skull. The black blade was wide and stretched from the Horned King's skeletal hand to the hems of his robes. He chuckled.

' **Foolish little girl… Not only I am a great sorcerer but I am also a great warrior once. My swordsmanship is unmatched and I'm immortal! You've no chance against me! Give me your crystal of Heart and I will make your death swift and painless!'**

'Over my dead body!' Kairi snarled and charged again. She was close to her; she aimed low for the Horned King's stomach. Only to be deflected with easy the Horned King's sword.

Belying his bulky size, the Horned King whirled and the sword slammed into Bear Princess. Kairi grunted as she was forced to move to her left. She pointed Destiny's Embrace at the Horned King and fire shot out from it, engulfing the skeleton in flames. The Horned King just absorbed the fire and raising his sword, brought it down on Kairi. Kairi had to cross Destiny's Embrace and Bear Princess to block the Horned King's blow.

The Horned King continued to rain blows after blows on Kairi, his attacks becoming fiercer and fiercer at each attack. Kairi can only gasped as she was sent to her knees, struggling to keep the Horned King off her.

 _He's too strong!_ Kairi thought. _He's right! He's too strong and experience than me! I can't beat him!_ She thought in despair. She was about to give in to the Horned King's strength but then another thought came into her mind. _If I lose here, Sora would be sacrifice to this Vagnar! I can't let that happened!_

Giving out a battle roar, Kairi found the inner strength within her as she slowly rose from the sand. The smug look on the Horned King's skeletal face was gone as he realised Kairi was fighting back. He snarled and brought his blade down on Kairi once more, only to hit the sand. The moment the Horned King's blade was lifted off Kairi's key-blades, Kairi stepped to his left side and slashed at his side. The attack only made a cut on the Horned King's robes as the skeleton lord pulled his sword from the sand and swung it towards Kairi.

Kairi blocked the blow, this time holding her ground. She used Bear Princess to push the Horned King's sword away as she plunged Destiny Embrace into his chest. Bewildered at first, the Horned King just laughed and gloated.

' **Little girl…** **I'm immortal! I feel no pain! Many have fought and lost their lives! You're fighting a futile battle!'**

For the first time, the Horned King and Kairi met eye to eye. 'Let see if you're still immortal when the light enter you!'

Kairi closed her eyes and murmuring softly, Destiny's Embrace suddenly glowed with light. To Kairi, the light was comfort and warmth to anyone who welcome it. To the Horned King, it was knife into his guts. He screamed as the light penetrated into his defences and into his body, sending excruciating into his bones. Desperately, he pushed himself away from Kairi and using his other skeletal hand, pulled Destiny Embrace from his chest. Despite the agony he was going through, he realised that Kairi was ready to attack him and brought his sword up to defend himself.

Kairi, with a fighting spirit and love of Sora instilled into her, raised Bear Princess, which was glowing with brilliant light. With a cry, she brought the key-blade down on the Horned King's sword. Bear Princess was like a mother bear ready to fight and protect her cubs from any danger. The key-blade touched the Horned King's sword and broke it, sending the black blade flying until it lodged into the sand. The Horned King gasped as Bear Princess bit across his chest, sending in more light into his body.

The Horned King's tormented scream echoed around the island. Gone was the smugness and gloating of the skeleton lord as a young girl was defeating him. Screaming wildly, he stretched out his hand towards Kairi. Kairi had just enough time to protect herself as the Horned King sent dark energy towards her, sending her backwards. Kairi landed onto her back but quickly jumping onto her feet. She had both her key blades at the ready but she did not need them yet.

Donald and Goofy quickly joined her as the Horned King screamed in anguish and pain, glaring at Kairi and her two friends.

' **CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU!'** he bellowed in agony. ' **THIS IS NOT OVER YET! MY MASTER WILL COME! HE WILL DESTROY YOU AND THIS WORLD! YOU… ARE ONLY DELAYING THE INEVITABLE!'**

The Horned King gestured and a portal appeared next to him. Clutching his body, he quickly stepped into the portal. He turned back to the party, icy venom in his voice.

' **We shall meet again… And next time, your little light won't protect you from Vagnar's wrath!'**

He stepped inside of the portal and disappeared from whenever he came. This time however, Kairi was ready for this moment.

'Oh no you don't!' she shouted.

Sprinting on the balls of her feet, Kairi ran after the Horned King. Surprise at Kairi's reaction but recovering quickly, Donald and Goofy followed after her. The portal was closing off as Kairi hurried as best as she could, kicking sand in the air. Both Donald and Goofy were right behind her. Before the portal could close, Kairi, Donald and Goofy jumped towards it. The portal closed just as Kairi, Donald and Goofy were inside of it.

The view of Destiny Island disappeared as they entered a dark swirling vortex, endless and a cold void before them. Kairi thought, belatedly, that it was probably a stupid idea to jump after the Horned King without knowing what she was coming up against. It felt like forever in the void until they felt a warmth light coming towards them. Kairi, Donald and Goofy braced themselves as the light enveloped them.

The three friends found themselves stumbling forward as they rolled onto grass and then into a bush, landing painfully on their back and front. Groans and moans were heard as they rubbed their heads, checking for any signs of fractured bones. Once they made sure that nothing was broken, they slowly stood up, surveying their new surrounding. They were in a forest, lust with greens and the earth covered with green grass. The sky was blue with large, tall trees blocking the view of the sky and other parts of the land.

'Where are we?' Donald asked as he looked around. He quacked suddenly as Goofy stood up, making him jumped sideway. He glared at his friend as Goofy shook his head.

Kairi slowly stood up as she too surveyed her surroundings. 'No idea.' she murmured, almost to herself. 'Jiminy, do you know where we are?'

Jiminy Cricket jumped out from her hoodie and landed on her shoulders. He shook his head. 'I'm as clueless as you are Kairi but if this is where the Horned King took us, it must be his home-world.'

'For a skeleton, he does live in a peaceful and living place.' Kairi commented.

Jiminy only shook his head. 'Don't judge a book by its cover. We don't know much of this world so we may not be in the "badlands".'

Kairi nodded and waited for her two friends to get up.

'What's the plan?' Goofy asked, sweeping dust off his pants.

'Let's do a bit of exploring and learn more about this land. Then we should gather clues on the Horned King's whereabouts and…'

'QUACK!'

She was suddenly interrupted when something furry and small jumped onto Donald, making him yelped in surprise. Kairi and Goofy could only stand there as Donald tried to pry the hairy thing off him to no avail. Spotting a chance, Kairi managed to grabbed hold of the furry thing. Donald, who was flailing his arms wildly, landed on his bottoms. He got up, threw a tantrum and jumped at the furry thing who attacked him. Goofy quickly caught him in mid-air as Donald shouted threats and shaking his fists at the thing that attacked him.

While Goofy hold off Donald, Kairi turned the creature around to face her. It was a small creature that looked like a gopher covered in light-brown fur with white fur covering its head and a white stash under its black nose. In contrast to its shaggy appearance, its blue eyes shined in the sunlight. Kairi had to smile at the creature.

'What manner of creature are you?' she asked friendly.

The creature beamed at Kairi's friendly attitude. 'My name is Gurgi. Friendly and humble forest creature. Does pretty lady wants to be Gurgi's friend?'

'How can I say no to a cute thing like you?' Kairi smiled warmly. 'My name is Kairi.'

Gurgi smiled back as he pulled out something. It was an apple. 'Nice to meet you Kairi. Does Kairi wants an apple?'

'What the…?' Donald exclaimed as he checked his pockets. They were empty. 'My apple! Why you thieving little…'

'Gosh! He reminded me of Abu. A-hyuk!'

'Gurgi!' Kairi said in a motherly tone, putting Gurgi down onto the ground. 'Did you take that apple from Donald?'

Gurgi gave a guilty look. 'Gurgi did because Gurgi is hungry.'

'Well it's not nice to take things without asking.' Kairi admonished him. 'Now, give the apple back to Donald and say sorry.'

Gurgi looked sulky before turning to Donald and holding out the apple to him. 'Gurgi sorry.' he mumbled.

Donald stopped making threats and gestured for Goofy to let him go. Once Goofy dropped him onto the ground, Donald smiled. 'Well… I guess I was overreacting…'

He suddenly quacked loudly when Gurgi took a bite of the apple, chewing noisily with loud smacking sounds. He swallowed the apple in his mouth and gave the remainder back to Donald. Donald took it and studied the bite on the apple, trying very hard to control his rage. He failed miserably.

Shouting curses, he tried to grabbed hold Gurgi. Gurgi was too fast for him as he dodged and rolled from Donald's hands. He rolled under Goofy's legs and made his way deeper into the forest, laughing. Donald was hot on his trail, still shouting and cursing while Kairi and Goofy followed after them. They did not go far as Gurgi accidentally ran into someone, knocking him down. Donald was too slow to stop as he too joined the pile, he, Gurgi and the other man struggling to get up.

Kairi and Goofy skidded to a stop as a boy appeared out from nowhere, brandishing a sword at them. The boy was slender with short red hair and with green eyes. He was about Kairi's age. He wore green vest over a long-sleeved yellow shirt along with green pants and brown boots. His handsome face showed a mixture of determination and uneasiness.

'Stay where you are!' he shouted, waving his sword at the pair. 'Don't come any closer! Unless you want to be cut in half!'

In response to the threat the boy was making, Kairi summoned both her key-blades while Goofy pulled out his shield. Not expecting a fight, the boy shivered but steeled himself as he and Kairi and Goofy had a stand-off. Before the encounter could escalate any further, another voice rang through the forest.

'Taran stopped!' it was a girl's voice. 'Don't just swing your sword at just anybody! They don't look like the Horned King's minions!'

The boy named Taran blushed and lowered his sword, scowling at the girl. 'Don't be so daft, Eilonwy! How do you know that they're not spies?'

The girl, Eilonwy, scowled at Taran's words. Like Taran, she was slender and at the same age. Her long blonde hair flowed down her back and her blue eyes shone. She wore a pink dress with a pink underskirt with a dark blue bodice sewn at the top. Her hands were on her hips as she regarded Taran.

'That's _Princess_ Eilonwy to you!' the girl snapped back. 'Besides, they look too clean to be the Horned King's minions!'

'We're not!' Goofy said, he and Kairi lowering their weapons. 'We just got here! We don't even know where we are?'

'Also, we're looking for the Horned King too.' Kairi added. 'He got one of our friend captured.'

Taran lowered his sword, looking curiously at Kairi, while Eilonwy helped the pile to entangle. Donald and Gurgi slowly got back to their feet as Eilonwy helped an elderly man up onto his feet. He was skinny with a mop of white hair on his head and a grey eyebrows above his brown eyes. He wore a brown hat with a pink feather attached to it and a long-sleeved yellow shirt covered by a brown vest, his paunch showing through his clothes. Judging the harp hanging onto his back made him a bard.

'You all right, Fflewddur?' Eilonwy asked.

The bard Fflewddur coughed and dusted his clothes. 'I'm fine, thank you princess.'

Eilonwy smiled and looked down at Gurgi. 'What sort of creature are you little one?'

'Don't bother with him.' Taran snapped, glaring at Gurgi. 'He's nothing more than a coward and a thief!'

Gurgi returned the glare back. 'Oh it's you. Gurgi do not want to talk to you.'

He folded his arms across his furry chest and looked away from Taran. Taran did so. Kairi and Eilonwy looked at both at Gurgi and Taran.

'You two know each other?' Kairi and Eilonwy asked at the same time.

'It's a long story.' Taran said shortly.

'Gurgi do not want to talk about it.' Gurgi replied.

Eilonwy just shook her head and she turned to Kairi, her smile returning. 'Sorry but we didn't introduce ourselves properly. My name is Eilonwy, princess of Prydain. This is Taran and Fflewddur.'

Kairi smiled back. 'My name is Kairi. My two friends are Donald Duck and Goofy. Sitting on my shoulders is Jiminy Cricket.' Jiminy popped out from the hoodie and waved at the new group. 'And I believed you already met Gurgi.'

Eilonwy smiled at Gurgi who was still turning his back on Taran who now joined into the conversation. 'Why are you looking for the Horned King anyway?' he asked.

Kairi gathered her breath and began telling them about how the Horned King had kidnapped Sora and was planning to bring back his master, Vagnar, back to life. Taran and Eilonwy's eyes widened as Kairi told them her adventure in search of both the Horned King and Sora. Kairi had not even finished her tale when Eilonwy interrupted her.

'Did you say Sora?' she asked. Kairi, surprised, nodded. 'Can you describe him?'

Kairi nodded, though confused. 'Brown spiky hair, blue eyes, tanned skin, goofy looks…' she smiled briefly before she continued on. 'Black shirt and black baggy shorts and black sneakers.'

Taran raised an eyebrow. 'What's a sneaker?'

'Never mind that!' Eilonwy said as she turned to Kairi. 'He is still in the Horned King's Castle as a prisoner.'

Kairi gasped as Donald and Goofy joined in the conversation.' Y-you… Saw him there?'

'Yeah.' Taran replied. 'It was he who helped us escaped from our prison and… He stayed behind so we can all escaped.'

Kairi looked at both Taran and Eilonwy, blinking back tears. 'Please… Tell me more.'

The dungeon of the Horned King's Castle was extremely discouraging for any prisoners unfortunate enough to be there. It dirty brown stonewalls spotted with moss made the dungeon cold and uncomfortable. Dirty straws strewn across the floor and chains hung down from the ceiling. The only exit to such a forbidding place was a strong wooden door with a small window fitted with iron bars.

Inside were Taran and Princess Eilonwy were standing in the dungeon, trying to find a way out from their prison.

'There must be a way out from here.' Taran muttered as he felt the walls.

'In my experience as a kidnapped Princess', Eilonwy said as she stamped on several stones on the floor. 'There should be a hidden passageway out from here.'

'Hah!' Taran scoffed. 'As if a girl knows any better.'

Eilonwy whirled around, fury on her face. 'A girl? At least this girl knows more about this kind of thing more than you do! I like to see you try getting us out from here!'

'I will.' Taran said, feeling the walls harder. 'It take you know. Of course, only a girl would be…'

It was a good thing that another voice interrupted him otherwise Taran would be facing Eilonwy's wrath. 'Hello? Is anyone in there?'

Eilonwy immediately replied. 'Hello. Whose there?'

Taran immediately grabbed Eilonwy by her shoulders. 'What are you doing? He could be the Horned King's henchman you silly girl!'

Despite glaring at Taran, Eilonwy slowly nodded. She shouted back. 'What do you want from us?'

The voice answered, as if he heard Taran's whispering. 'Don't worry, I'm a friend!' the voice assured them. 'I have come to free you! Just stand back away from the door!'

Taran and Eilonwy exchanged confused looks but did as the voice told them, Taran standing in front of Eilonwy protectively. Before them, there was a flash of blinding light coming through the bars and there was clicking sound coming from the door. Taran and Eilonwy were surprised but glad that the door swung opened, a figure walking in. The figure had brown spiky hair and sky-blue eyes. He wore an unusual black outfit and some strange red shoes. In his hand was a sword that looked like a key.

'Hey, you guys all right?' he asked Taran and Eilonwy.

Eilonwy was the first to recover her surprise. 'Yes we're fine. Thank you for rescuing us. Who are you?'

To their further astonishment, the key-like weapon disappeared from the boy's hands. 'The name's Sora and we're getting out of here before the Horned King discover that we're gone.'

Taran's suspicion subsided as he regarded his rescuer. 'Where did your sword go?'

Sora just smiled. 'It will come when I need it. Now come on, we better get going.'

Taran and Eilonwy followed after Sora who was leading them through the caste's dungeon, obviously trying to find an exit. They walked pass empty cells with skeletons chained to walls or mercilessly full with wooden crates with unknown contents. They continued on until they heard a wailing from a cell similar to theirs.

'Let me go!' a man's voice rang throughout the dungeon. 'I'm a minstrel of excellent talents! I sing to kings! I sing to princes and dukes! I sing praises and songs of the gods!' then there was a noise that sounded like a snapped string. 'Stopped that harp! You know I'm as good as they come!'

Sora raised an eyebrow at Taran and Eilonwy as his key-like weapon appeared in his hands. To the pairs' surprise, Sora pointed the sword at the cell's keyhole and an arrow of light shot out from it. They heard the same clicking sounds they heard from their cell's door and their astonishment increase when Sora pushed the door opened. He grinned as he noticed them staring. Taran recovered first this time.

'What is that sword?'

Sora hefted the key-like weapon onto his shoulders. 'This is called a key-blade. It's a special weapon that not only can it beat up bad guys but can also unlock doors.'

With that Sora stepped into the cell, followed by Taran and Eilonwy. They found an old man wearing brown clothing and a hat with a small harp hanging in front of him, marking him as a minstrel which he claimed. He was chained against the wall. He looked up at the newcomers.

'Please! Don't hurt me!' the minstrel pleaded. 'I will… I will sing you songs of praises! Fit for kings. You won't…'

'That won't be necessary.' Sora said mildly as Eilonwy came forward, untying the minstrel's bounds.

'We're here to rescue you.' Eilonwy said as the minstrel dropped onto his feet, rubbing his sore wrists with relief.

'Oh thank you! Thank you! The name is Fflewddur Fflam, minstrel of Prydain! I will sing songs and odes in your honour!'

'I think we have no time for that.' Sora said as he glanced to the open cell door, checking for any guards before turning back to the 'group. 'But since Fflewddur and me gave our names already, can we hear yours? Sorry if I didn't ask you when we first met.'

Eilonwy nodded. 'My name is Eilonwy, Princess of Prydain.'

Both Sora and Fflewddur bowed lowly before Eilonwy. 'Your highness.' they murmured together.

Eilonwy blushed and gestured for them to rise. It was Taran's turn. 'My name is Taran. I'm… An inspiring hero of the land.'

Sora nodded. 'Good, that means you know how to fight.' Before Taran could say anything, Sora raised his hand. 'I heard voices. They must have found us. We better get going.'

Sora led the group out of the cell and ran further down the dungeon, trying to get away from the loud voices coming from them. After they descended, the voices were distant but not quiet. It would not be long for the Horned King's henchmen to find them. They ran further, passing rooms after rooms to put more distance between them and their pursuers.

Hearing Fflewddur and Eilonwy panting slightly, Sora and Taran slowed down. As the bard and the princess took a breather, the two boys studied the room they were in. Apparently they were in the Horned King's treasury. Gold coins scattered across the floor with golden goblets and jewelled amulets stacked up in piles. The most extraordinary of all treasure was a giant treasure box in the middle of the room.

Curious, Taran walked up to it and with all his might, pushed it wide opened. He gaped as a gazed down into the treasure box. It was a big great sword with a golden hilt supporting a gleaming silver blade. Surrounding it was some sort of magical aura. Still gaping, Taran wrapped his hands around the hilt and lifted the sword up in ease. He lifted it higher and gazed it in awe, the sword sending out waves of magic at Taran's touch. Sora looked at Taran and nodded.

'It means the sword likes you.' Sora commented with approval. 'Hope you're a great a hero you said you are because we got company.'

He was done talking when more figures entered the treasury, surrounding the party. The Horned King's henchmen were snarling at them, smelling terribly and armed to the teeth. Eilonwy and Fflewddur backed away as both Sora and Taran stood protectively in front of them, blades in their hands. One of the henchmen roared and raising his axe, brought it down on Sora. Sora blocked the attack with his key-blade and pushing it aside, kicked the henchman into another three: sending them into a pile. Taran stood his ground as two henchmen charged towards him, spears in hand. Taran swung the sword wildly, cutting the spearheads off their shafts. The two henchmen looked at their broken spears in panic and backed away from the group.

With his new sword and confidence, Taran stepped forward again and brought it down on a henchman's club. The club splintered into splinters and the henchman yelped, sending him running off where he came from. Sora was finishing off the last two henchmen, knocking them out cold. He grinned at Taran.

'Great job.' he smiled. 'Now, let's get out of here.'

'Yes.' Eilonwy agreed. 'I think I can hear dogs.'

Barks echoed from the corridors as well as more angry shouts, prompting the party the move on. With both Sora and Taran leading the way, the party ran up the stairs. Barking and shouting surrounded them as they climbed up the cold stone stairs, looking for a way out from this forsaken castle. So it was to their relief when they saw some light and the smell of fresh air, even though it might be fouled by the Horned King's presence.

They thrust themselves out into the open and blindly made their way for the castle's gates. They just left the staircase when more of the Horned King's henchmen were at their heels, with hunting dogs barking for their blood. The party ran faster for their dear life as the henchmen's shouting became jubilant, knowing that there was no escape from the castle. The party skidded to a stop before the gate. The gate was massive with iron wrought closing any escapable gaps and closed down into the ground, severing the party's escape. They turned back to the henchmen who were closing in on them, grinning nastily.

'We're trapped!' Eilonwy gasped as she tried to look for a way out.

'We're doom! We're doom!' Fflewddur wailed, trembling terribly.

Sora summoned his key-blade and stood between the party and the charging henchmen. 'I will deal with them! You get that gate opened!'

With his own battle cry, he charged into the fray. Eilonwy and Taran were left to try to open the gate, to no avail. Finally, they found the lever that open and close the gate. Taran grabbed hold of the lever and with all his might, pushed it down. The massive door slowly opened, creating a loud metallic groaning sound. Taran held onto the lever long enough for Eilonwy and Fflewddur to get out of the castle's ground before he joined them, the gate slowly shutting down. Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur were out of the castle and were on the bridge, looking back at Sora who was still fighting off the Horned King's men.

'Sora! Come on!' Taran shouted.

Sora was too occupied to heed Taran as he was fighting off the horde of henchmen. Few of them managed to get passed him and were making their way towards Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur. Noticing this, Sora flung his key-blade towards the lever. The key-blade slammed into the chains connecting the gate to the lever, severing it. The gate slammed down shut, making the henchmen slammed into it.

Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur were safe but Sora's action left him defenceless, allowing the henchmen to swarm around him. They tackled him to the ground, throwing their weight on the boy. Taran and Eilonwy ran back to the gate, banging it with their fists.

'Sora!' Eilonwy cried as Taran tried to find a way in but the gate was shut tight.

They could hear Sora's faint voice. 'Go! Run! 'I'll be fine! Just get out from here!'

Taran and Eilonwy slowly backed away from the gate as the henchmen laughed heartily at Sora's words while some tried to get the gate open again. Knowing that there was nothing they could do for Sora, the trio ran away from the Horned King's castle. They ran as far as they could until they heard no more of the evil laughter coming from their captors.


	16. The Black Cauldron

When both Taran and Eilonwy finished their tale, Kairi was trying not to cry. Her tears were out from both joy and sadness. The former because after all this time, she finally found Sora. The latter was because Sora was still a prisoner of the Horned King. Her eyes brimming with tears, she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand.

'Sora…' she whispered. 'After so many hardships and suffering, I finally found you. Just hang in there.'

Eilonwy gave her a look of sympathy. 'I'm sorry.' she apologised. 'If it wasn't for us, you would be reunited with Sora.'

Kairi shook her head, drying her eyes. 'No, it's okay. I knew Sora would sacrifice himself to save others. That is why I love him.' she looked at Eilonwy and Taran, determination in her eyes. 'Please, you must lead me to the Horned King's castle!'

Taran starred at her as if she grew a pair of horns on her head. 'Are you crazy? We just escaped from there! Do you want us to be capture by the Horned King again?'

'Taran!' Eilonwy whirled on the boy, anger in her eyes. 'Sora saved us! Maybe we should go back and rescue him!'

'Have you forgotten why we had to escape the Horned King's castle in the first place?' Taran argued back. 'It is because we need to find the Black Cauldron before the Horned King does!'

'Please!' Kairi begged Taran. 'I just need directions to the Horned King's castle and you can continue with your journey! I need to rescue Sora before the Horned King kill him!'

'The Horned King won't kill Sora if he don't have the Black Cauldron in his possession.'

Surprised, they turned towards the voice which was behind the bushes. The bushes rustled and popped out Krocken, making Eilonwy, Taran, Fflewddur and Gurgi shrieked in surprise. Kairi smiled and looked up at Krocken, only for her smile to fade. Kairi had grown accustomed to Krocken's casual and sarcastic attitude. Now there was something that Kairi had not expected to see on Krocken's face: worry and fear.

'Krocken, I'm glad you're here!' Kairi started before turning to the others. 'It's okay, he's a friend of ours. Krocken, these are Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur and Gurgi. They just escaped from the Horned King's castle thanks to Sora. Guys, this is Krocken.'

Krocken inclined his head at the new party. 'Nice to meet you. I apologise for my abrupt appearance and I am pleased you managed to escape from the Horned King. Many few had tried and failed. Princess Eilonwy, it is a pleasure to meet you.' He bowed his head lower towards Eilonwy. 'I trust your royal father is well.'

Eilonwy, as always, was the first to recover. 'You… You know my father?'

Krocken nodded. 'We met several times for business and I offer advice to him.' he then turned back to Kairi urgently. 'I know what Maleficent meant back at the Enchanted Dominion!'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy closed in on Krocken as he explained. 'I just met up with Yen Sid and Merlin and they informed me that there's another way the Horned King can bring in Vagnar without using the Crystal of Hearts!'

Kairi, Goofy and Donald gathered around Krocken urgently. 'There is ?' Kairi asked.

Krocken nodded. 'Apparently, this Black Cauldron that your new friends are looking for was made out of the metal from Vagnar's iron staff. Long time ago, the key-blade wielder who sealed Vagnar away cut a fragment of the staff and it fell onto the ground. After the defeat of their master, Vagnar's disciples recovered the piece of the staff and turned it into a cauldron. They infused the cauldron with powerful dark magic and with its power, used it to create an army of the undead. I had been asked to fight alongside Prydain's previous kings against the Liches and their undead army.'

'The Prydain forces and I have defeated numerous Lich for the past eight hundred years but we never recover the black cauldron. We all thought that the black cauldron was lost forever… Until now.'

'If the Horned King gets his hands on the Black Cauldron, not only will he obtained an undead army but he will be able to revive Vagnar with a heart of a true hero!'

Everybody stared at the blue dinosaur as he untold his tale, a sense of dread filling the air. Kairi was the first one to recover.

'That means he will use Sora's heart to revive Vagnar without the use of the Crystals of Hearts!'

'Then all we have to do is to get the Black Cauldron first before the Horned King does.' Donald said.

Krocken nodded. 'My thoughts exactly.'

'We're also looking for the Black Cauldron.' Eilonwy intervened. 'The army of the dead will destroy all that is living in Prydain if they're were summoned. If you don't mind, we would like to join you.'

Kairi smiled gratefully at Eilonwy. 'Thank you. Your help is greatly appreciated.'

'The problem is, we don't know where the Black Cauldron is.' Taran said regretfully. 'The one who can find it is my master's pig Hen Wen but we got separated after I helped him escaped from the Horned King's castle.'

Goofy gave Taran a confused look. 'You named a pig after a chicken?'

Taran shrugged. 'My master named him. I'm only in charge of taking care of him. Some help I was… Anyway, we need Hen Wen in order to find the Black Cauldron.'

'Gurgi knows where pig is!' Gurgi suddenly jumped in front of them. 'Gurgi saw pig going north! Follow Gurgi and Gurgi will find pig!'

Taran gave him a skeptical look. 'After you abandoned me and Hen Wen to the Horned King, why should I…'

Eilonwy elbowed Taran in the sides before he could finish his sentence. As Taran gasped in pain, Eilonwy smiled. 'Please Gurgi, lead us to Hen Wen. It's very important to us right now.'

'Please Gurgi.' Kairi added her own smiles. She can feel Krocken rolling his eyes behind her.

Gurgi beamed at the two princesses. 'Of course! Gurgi will do anything for pretty ladies! Follow Gurgi!'

Gurgi shot out from the group and head down the path, going deeper into the woods. The rest of the group, including Taran and Krocken, quickly followed behind: careful not to lose sight of Gurgi. They had to double their pace as the nimble woodland creature ducked under branches and jumped over fallen logs as he excitedly led his new friends on. The forest turned from bright green to darker green as the sunlight can no longer penetrate the thick leaves of the forest.

Gurgi continued to lead them for almost an hour when he stopped, waiting for the others to catch. Kairi and her new friends stopped before the small woodland creature, taking this opportunity to catch their breath. They leaned on their knees and breathe in as much air except for Krocken and Gurgi who seemed fit enough to travel at length. Taran looked up at Gurgi, panting heavily.

'Gurgi… Are you sure… You know where we're going? We have been… Going for almost an hour…'

'Stopped being so pushy…' Eilonwy interjected. 'I'm sure Gurgi know the way.'

'Gurgi knows! Gurgi knows!' Gurgi cried, as he jumped forward. 'Gurgi will find pig and…'

His statement interrupted when he yelped and there was a sound of a loud splash. To their horror, Gurgi accidentally fell into a small pond. This pond was not any other pond. The purple was brilliant purple and it was swirling furiously, Gurgi being pulled toward the centre of the pond. Gurgi splashed on the water in a panic, trying to reach the edge of the pond to no avail.

'Gurgi!' Eilonwy screamed.

Without thinking, Taran stepped into the pool and tried to reach out for Gurgi. The woodland creature reached out towards Taran's hand. Gurgi managed to grab hold on Taran, only to pull the boy into the swirling pool. Both Eilonwy and Fflewddur grabbed hold of Taran's other hand and they too fell into the swirling pool. Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Krocken could only watch as they watched their new friends swirled around the pool before disappearing into the water.

'Oh no!' Kairi gasped. 'They… They sank to the bottom of the lake.'

'Gosh!' Goofy cried, wringing his ears.

Donald, on the other hand, remained calm and inspected the pool closely. 'Guys, I think this pool lead to another place.'

'Of course.' Krocken said in his usual sarcastic tone. 'How could it not? I mean, have you ever seen a normal pool that is purple in colour and can magically swirl by itself?'

Donald glared at Krocken. 'Your sarcasm is getting on my nerve.'

Krocken shrugged his reptilian shoulders as Kairi stepped towards the pool. 'Well, what are we waiting for?'

Before any of the boys could stop her, Kairi leaped into the air and dived into the pool: disappearing into the waters. Krocken, Donald and Goofy waited for Kairi to resurface. When she did not, Krocken nodded and leaped into the waters. Goofy pinched his nose and jumped into the pool after the blue dinosaur, followed by Donald.

To their surprise, the boys landed onto dry ground: the swirling pool just above them and acting as some sort of portal. Before them was Kairi who was already rousing Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur and Gurgi to wake up. They were in a dark cave, dried and extremely narrow. Stalactites hanged from the ceiling of the cave and stalagmites poked out from the ground. Some sort of floating magical aura and magical fungi gave illumination in the cave.

Soon, Taran, Gurgi, Eilonwy and Fflewddur groaned and opened their eyes, waiting up from their brief coma. Kairi and the others helped them up onto their feet.

'Where are we?' Taran asked sleepily as Goofy pulled him up onto his feet.

'It looks like we're the pool brought all of us to a cave.' Kairi replied as she helped Eilonwy to her feet, looking around. 'Problem is, I don't know whether this is a safe place or not.'

'Hey, look!' Donald pointed, dropping Fflewddur back onto the ground. The bard moaned and rubbed his sore chin.

Everybody, including Fflewddur, looked at where Donald was pointing at. Deeper down the cave was a bright glow, becoming brighter and brighter. Curious, they crept closer to the glow. They reached a crevice where they stumble into an affair that they did not expect in their current location. Below them were two male floating fairies. One was fat and twinkle in his eyes while the other one was thin and grumpy. Both of them wore long grey beards and funny and loose clothes. They were fumbling with some constructions made out of twigs and giant leaves holding water.

'Are you sure you know what you're doing?' the fat one asked, eyeing the swaying contraption warily.

The thin one was flying here and there, trying to tie the knots that bind the contraption together. 'Yes. I double and triple checked it! Soon, we be having clean fresh water before you can say…'

He yelped as one of the rope slipped through his fingers and the contraption almost collapse if he had not grabbed hold on two more ropes with both hands. With the contraption still swaying about, the fat one joined in and tugged onto the rope: struggling.

'You should had quadruple check it!' the fat fairy shouted.

The party tried not to giggle as the contraption swayed violently, the two fairies swaying together with it. Finally, the contraption collapsed: sending sticks flying everywhere and water spilling onto the ground. The two fairies yelped as the sticks fell on them, pinning them to the ground before a giant leaf covered them up. It was the last straw.

The party burst with laughter as the two unfortunate fairies picked themselves up, noticing the group. Blushing but trying to keep some of his dignity, the fat fairy flew towards them. The party quietened their giggling as the fairy hovered just in front of them, clearing his throat before speaking.

'Hello there.' he began. 'I'm King Eiddieleg, king of the Fairy-folk. What brings you in our peaceful kingdom?'

Kairi spoke for them. 'Sorry about all that, but we just stumbled here through the pool on the surface.'

Eiddieleg frowned and turned to the thin, lanky fairy who now joined him. 'Well Doli, looks like your water gathering what you called it wasn't so perfect after all.'

Doli threw a fit. 'So everything my fault, isn't it? My water gathering machine not perfect, my fault! Can't find enough mushrooms for stew, my fault! Blasted pig finding us, my…'

Then Taran interrupted him. 'Hen Wen? You got Hen Wen?'

Eiddieleg eyes lit up. 'So it is your pig then? Doli, mind getting the pig for the boy?'

Doli grumbled as he flew deeper into the caverns. 'Finally, one less burden for old Doli here.'

As he retreated deeper into the cave, more fairies emerged from their hiding places: curious about the newcomers. Unlike Eiddiepig and Doli, most of the fairies looked so young or child-like. Their eyes were so young and wide as they floated around the party, murmuring softly at each other. Kairi and the others slowly got to their feet, smiling at the fairies surrounding them.

'Ooohhh…' a female fairy indicated towards Kairi and Eilonwy. 'They're pretty.'

'I want to grow up as pretty as them.' another replied.

Both Kairi and Eilonwy giggled at the compliments. 'I'm sure you will in time.'

Both fairies beamed at the two girls, dancing around them. The male fairies were hovering around Krocken who stood impassively, ignoring them. Donald was turning around in circles as the fairies were poking and pulling his tail while Goofy was ticking one of them in the stomach, making the small creature giggled hysterically.

'A-hyuk!' Goofy said. 'Tickly.'

Then they heard a squeal as a pig ran towards Taran, its manner happy. Taran broke away from the group and opened his arms, the pig jumping into his arms and licking his face.

'Hen Wen!' Taran cried happily, hugging the pig. 'I'm glad you are okay!'

'And good riddance I say!' Doli grumbled, flying close by. 'Nuisance your pig, digging up the truffles and eating what little food we had. It was only a matter of time before that snouted monster eat us out from home!'

'Hush now Doli!' King Eiddieleg admonished the older fairy before turning back to the party. 'Ignore Doli. He can be grumpy at times. We had been taking care of your pig for some time now.'

'Thank you so much!' Taran said gratefully to the fairy king. 'Hen Wen means a lot to us.'

Eiddieleg nodded, pleased. Then his tone became serious. 'Has the burning and pillaging up there died down?'

'If you're referring to that monstrosity, the Horned King, then no.' Fflewddur answered.

'Although the forest we had been to was okay.' Kairi added, uncertainly.

Eilonwy however shook her head. 'You haven't been to the bad sides of Prydain yet. The Horned King's men had been raiding and sacking other villages. Those who survived were sent to his dark dungeons.'

'No one had the guts to stand up to that abomination!' Eiddieleg bristled.

'And now we're all in grave danger.' Krocken joined in. 'If the Horned King get his hands on the Black Cauldron, not only Prydain will be destroyed but also the entire universe.'

'No, no, no!' King Eiddieleg said. 'The Horned King will never get find the Black Cauldron. It is somewhere safe in the Marshes of Morva.'

Taran stopped playing with Hen Wen when he heard the location of the Black Cauldron. 'The Marshes of Morva?'

The king of the fairy-folk immediately closed his mouth, unintentionally revealing the location of the most dangerous item in the land. 'I think so…' he said hesitantly. 'Isn't that right Doli?'

Doli folded his arms across his chest. 'So that's my new job eh? Remembering where the cauldron is?'

'Don't you see?' Taran said excitedly, standing up. 'If we can find the cauldron before the Horned King and destroy it, we can save Prydain!'

Eilonwy looked reluctant. 'I don't know about this…'

Taran took Eilonwy's hand, imploringly. 'Please, come with me.'

Before Eilonwy could answer, Kairi stepped in between them. 'I agree with Taran. We must destroy the Black Cauldron before it could do any damage to Prydain. Let me, Krocken, Donald and Goofy go and look for the cauldron while you all go somewhere safe.'

'No!' Taran looked fiercely at Kairi. 'All this would not have happened if I had protected Hen Wen from the Horned King in the first place. I need to do this to save everyone from the Horned King's evil!'

'Taran is right.' Eilonwy joined in. 'Prydain is my kingdom and no one is going to destroy it! As a princess of these land, it is my duty to stop all evil from happening!'

'There's nothing wrong with hiding away from danger.' Krocken now joined them, surprisingly gentle. 'The Horned King is the most dangerous creature to ever live. It would be best if you return to the king and tell him to prepare for the worse…'

'All the more reason to come with you!' Eilonwy argued. 'Our kingdom had recently suffered a famine from the poor harvest and many of our people are starving. My father won't be able to summon an army to stop the Horned King. It will be better if we stop the Horned King by taking away his key to conquest.'

Unable to talk them out of coming with them, Kairi and Krocken finally nodded. Both Taran and Eilonwy smiled when King Eddieleg approached them. 'But the Marshes of Morva is difficult to travel through!'

'Ayep!' Doli agreed with a nod.

Then the king turned to his right-hand. 'But you can lead them right Doli?'

'What?' Doli exclaimed loudly. 'Me?'

'So you're suggesting that we entrust our journey to the likes of him?' Donald said but regretted it when the old fairy flew in front of him, glaring at the mage.

'And what's wrong with the like of me, duck?' he growled.

Donald cowered before the fairy. 'Er… Nothing…'

'He meant that you will be the best guide we ever had.' Fflewddur joined in, trying to help Donald out. His harp snapped a string, showing that he was lying.

King Eiddieleg now hovered above the group and announced. 'Well, shall we then?'

He twirled his fingers in circles and more fairies appeared next to him. To their party's surprise, they turned into dust and flew to their feet. As they looked down, it looked as if the fairies and stuck glitter all over their shoes and feet. They were further amazed as they slowly floated upwards towards the ceiling, no doubt the fairies were helping them back up to the surface. Taran looked around and noticed someone was missing. He looked down and saw Hen Wen still on the ground, looking up at him.

'Hen Wen!' he shouted, trying to reach for the pig.

Hen Wen was looking forlorn at Taran's departure but then a smile appeared on her face when Eiddieleg appeared in front of her. 'Don't worry about her! We will bring her home safely.'

Relieved, Taran waved farewell to the fairy king. 'Thank you sir!'

The others also waved their farewells as they continued to float skywards, flying pass stalactites. The cave walls at the bottom were light coloured with green and blue due to the magic fungus and fairy dust but as they got higher, the colour of the walls returned to their natural colour: dark brown. However, the group felt a cold breeze touching them. They were almost at the surface. The weak sunlight and cold air greeted them as the fairies lifted them out of a hole and lowered them onto the grassy ground. With their feet on the ground, the group thanked the fairies before the magical creatures disappeared back into the caverns. The only fairy left was grumpy Doli.

'All right then.' Doli grumbled, flying pass them. 'Let's get this over with! Come along you lots!'

He flew ahead of them, grumbling along the way. Kairi raised an eyebrow at Krocken, smiling. 'Looks like we found someone more grouchier and meaner than you Krocken.'

Krocken sniffed. 'I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that remark.'

They laughed at the blue dinosaur's reply before following the fairy, heading towards the unknown.

* * *

The Marshes of Morva was a forbidding and dead place for there was nothing that spoke of beauty and tranquility in it. The grounds were soggy with mud and covered in dead, dry leaves. The tress were barren and even if there were one tree that was covered up, the leaves were ugly brown. No sunlight poured onto the lands as every inch was dominated by a dark clouds, threatening to unleash rain or lightning. The party had to pinch and wrinkle their noses every time they passed a swamp, the water giving out a putrid smell. Dense fog wafted in and out of the cursed trees. Worse of all was the atmosphere, so full of dread and malice. It gave the party the feeling that someone or something was watching them as they made their way through the marshes.

They had been following Doli for the pass two hours with nothing to show of it. Their shoes were covered in mud and they were hungry and thirsty, Kairi Donald and Goofy sharing what food and water they brought with them to the others. Even though the sky was covered with dark clouds, they could tell the sun was setting. They need to find the cauldron fast before the predators of the night find them first.

'Are we there yet?' Donald complained, shaking off mud from his webbed feet.

'A-hyuk!' Goofy said, scrapping mud onto a stone. 'Muddy.'

Krocken, being a gentleman, was carrying both Kairi and Eilonwy on his scaly back: trudging through the muddy ground. Taran was behind them, taking up the rear. Flfewddur was with Doli, the fairy darting to and forth as they ventured deeper into the marshes.

'Are you sure you know the way?' Flewddur asked for the hundredth time, his shoes caked with mud.

Doli turned towards the bard, bristling with indignant. 'Yes I'm sure! We will get there before you can say mushroom soup!'

The bard gave the fairy a skeptical look as Doli settled on top of Fflewddur's hat. 'Really? Because we had been tracking on these lands for the past…'

Fflewddur suddenly gave a yelp as he slipped off the edge of a hill, bringing Doli with him. The party heard his screams and grunts of pain as the bard landed at the base of the hill. They peered from the edge, careful not to fall after Fflewddur.

'Fflewddur!' Eilonwy yelled, worried whether her friend was injured.

'Over there!' Krocken pointed towards a ledge. 'We can get down from there.'

With that, the blue dinosaur jumped off the edge and onto the ledge: slowly making way down towards the hill. The others quickly followed behind him, careful not to slip. They reached the base of the hill to find Fflewddur lying on his stomach, groaning painfully, as Doli tugged himself away from the bard.

'Watch it there you clumsy oaf!' he cursed. 'Look what you… Uh-oh…'

Doli stopped his cursing as he turned his horrified glances forward, the others turned to where Doli was looking at. Before them stood a giant rotten tree with barren branches and holes within it. At the base was a run-down hovel with both the roots and moss acting as a roof and made out of wood. Making the hovel ominous were the skulls of humans and animals on poles as well as a mysterious symbol on the wooden door. Surrounding the hovel was a swamp with water as black as night.

Taran tried to give the hovel a dismissive shrug. 'S-so? It's just a run-down house. What're you so worried about?'

Doli picked himself up before hovering to Taran's eye level. 'This is it. Welcome to Morva.'

'Are you saying we will find the Black Cauldron here?' Kairi asked, Doli nodding in response.

'Well?' Donald asked impatiently. 'What are we waiting for?'

'Oooohhhh…' Gurgi moaned, hiding behind Eilonwy's skirt. 'Gurgi don't like.'

'A-hyuk.' Goofy said and lifted the woodland creature into the air, placing him on his shoulders. 'Don't worry there little fella. Just stay with me and everything will be a-okay.'

'Shall we?' Krocken gestured at the door. Taran and Kairi nodded and taking the lead, the two humans and the dinosaur approached the hovel warily: the others following behind them. As they reached the door, Taran grabbed the handle and tried to open it. He shook the door back and forth until it burst opened, making him stumbled into the hovel. The others entered the hovel slowly.

Cobwebs cluttered in every corner of the hovel and clung to the beams that supported the roof. The floors had not been dusted or mopped for days, giving it a very dark colour. The hovel was filled with broken down furnitures, wooden chair and tables covered in dust and falling apart. Apart from the furnitures, there were what looked like empty cauldrons and vials. However, the party felt that they were not alone.

'You know?' Donald looked around nervously. 'I can't help having this feeling we're being watched.'

'Come on Donald.' Kairi tried to reassure her friend. 'It must be your imaginations going wild again.'

'Whoever lives here are not the most tidiest person.' Eilonwy commented, stroking finger along a dusty table.

'Hopefully whoever lives here know about the Black Cauldron.' Taran said. 'Let's take a look around.'

The others nodded and began their search, looking under every nook and cranny. They searched under tables, they searched in cabinets, they searched on shelves and racks. Krocken checked if there were any loose tiles on the floor, checking for any hidden passageway, while Gurgi disappeared behind a door. Doli flew to every pots and pan and peeked inside it while Fflewddur cast nervous glances in the shadows. Taran approached a chest and grabbing hold of the lid, lifted it opened.

He received a nasty shock as green frogs leaped out from the chest, croaking in alarm as they leaped on the floors. Eilonwy and Kairi screamed as the frogs jumped passed them while the boys were stampeded by the green amphibian, only Krocken remaining calm. The frogs did not bothered with any one of them as they made their way out of hovel, leaping towards freedom. Everyone were still panicking until Krocken shushed them.

'Quiet everyone!' he said calmly. 'They're only frogs!'

Doli flew in front of him, angry as usual. 'Those are not frogs! Those are people!'

'Are you saying that they were turned into frogs?' Taran asked, horrified.

He did not get a response when Gurgi jumped on his back, pushing his face into the floor. He jumped excitedly on Taran's back, shaking him by the collar.

'Master! Master.' he shouted before jumping off of Taran and landing in front of him. 'Gurgi found something! Found something interesting! Come! Follow Gurgi! Quick, quick, quick!'

Gurgi went deeper into hovel as Taran slowly got onto his feet, grumbling. He and the others followed the woodland creature through the door and entered a storeroom. It was dark with the no light and the party can only see due to the light from the house. As their adjusted to the light, they were surprised to see mountains of cauldrons stacked up in piles. They were all black with four legs and about the same size.

Gurgi stood before the piles, looking proud. 'Behold master!'

Taran looked at the room. 'This room is full of cauldrons!'

Donald gaped at the piles. 'So you're saying that the Black Cauldron could be hiding among them?'

'I don't understand.' Eilonwy said. 'Why would anyone want with so many…'

They almost jumped when they heard a shriek in the hovel.

'THIEVES! THIEVES!'

'I think the owner of the house has returned.' Kairi said as they made their way back to the main area of the hovel.

They were on time to see blue smoke appeared before them, almost choking them. When the smoke died down, there stood three figures. Their skin were pale blue and two of them had hooked noses, warts covering their faces. Two of them were skinny and lanky while the third one was plump. They had red hair and their eyes' pupils were crimson. They wore pale blue robes and shoes, the plump one's was a skirt. All three of them were females.

'The eldest witch, as they were, pointed accusingly at the party. 'Nasty people! You will all be turned into frogs and be eaten!'

Doli disappeared in fright as Donald and Goofy chorussed at the same time. 'Eaten?'

One of the witches, her face covered with scarves, appeared behind of Taran and grabbed hold of his arm: pinching it. 'Mmmmmm… Very tender… Will make a nice meal.'

Taran pulled his arm away just in time when the witch slammed her teeth in thin air. 'Stop that!'

Kairi and Krocken stood protectively around Eilonwy while the plump witch caught Fflewddur by the collar, pulling the bard towards her. Surprisingly, she was giving Fflewddur looks of enamour rather than hunger as she hugged him around the shoulders. 'Wait! Aren't you a handsome one?'

Fflewddur looked horrified as he tried to pull the witch's arms off him. 'Well… Erm… I…'

The plump witch rubbed her shoulder into the bard in a seductive manner. 'Don't you find me irresistible?'

Despite the threat the eldest witch gave, Kairi found it amusing as the plump witch continued to flirt with Fflewddur. Even Krocken cracked a smile.

'Looks like our bard is popular with the ladies.'

Kairi and Eilonwy giggled as the second witch lost her patience. 'Enough with this nonsense!'

She flung her hands and blue magic shot out from her fingers, striking Fflewddur. The bard disappeared in blue smokes, revealing a confused green frog on the floor. The second witch screeched with delight as Fflewddur, the frog, jumped away in terror. Before the second witch could catch Fflewddur, the plump witch got in her way.

'You're not going to eat this one!'

She blew a kiss at Fflewddur, releasing a bolt of blue magic towards the bard-turned-frog. The bolts hit the frog and he immediately turned back to human, still sitting like a frog. A fly flew passed Fflewddur who opened his mouth and his tongue caught the fly, pulling the poor creature into his mouth before closing his mouth with his hands in embarrassment. As Kairi and Eilonwy grimaced in disgust, the three witches cackled loudly. Taran lost his patience and pulled out his sword, brandishing it at the three witches.

'Enough!' he said firmly. 'We're here for the Black Cauldron!'

The witches stopped their cackling as they turned to each other, surprises on their faces.

'Did you hear that sisters?' the eldest asked her siblings.

'No one has asked for the Black Cauldron for two thousand years!' the plump witch gasped.

The second witch grabbed the eldest by her front robes. 'What are we going to do? The Black cauldron is our most prized cauldrons!'

The eldest witch pulled her sister's hands away from her robes. 'Don't worry. Leave this to me.' She then strutted towards a door, opening it. 'Perhaps I can interest you with something else.'

Pots and pans floated out from the door, hovering around the party and knocking into them. A pot knocked Taran off his feet, making him land on his bottoms and letting go of his sword.

'Pots, pans, skillets…' the eldest witch listed. 'Take anything you like.'

Donald reached up and caught a skillet, admiring it a she turned to Kairi and Goofy. 'We could do with a new skillet.'

All of the sudden, Taran's sword which had been floating in the air and flashed brightly and halved every pot and cauldron that were in the way. The party watched in amazement as the sword cleaved the kitchenware, Taran grabbing hold of the hilt and flying with the magic blade. Kairi turned to Krocken, whispering.

'Do you recognised that sword?'

Krocken frowned. 'If memory served me well, that sword had no name but it did belong to a powerful warrior king. It was forged with powerful magic. Apparently it can fight by itself without anyone wielding it.'

After every floating pots and pans were cut in half, the sword's light dimmed and lowered Taran onto the floor. Taran picked himself up as Goofy clapped loudly.

'Bravo!'

Donald frowned as he lifted up his hands: the skillet in his left hand and the handle in the other. Looks like Donald's new found skillet was not spared as well. 'There goes that omelette I wanted to try.'

The party were not the only one impressed. Kairi noted that the eldest witch gasped the sword's prowess before a sly look appeared on her face. She then turned to her two sisters as they began whispering to one another. Kairi became uneasy at the changed of situation.

'I don't like the way those three crones are scheming.'

Krocken nodded. 'And I think where this is heading.'

The eldest witch broke from her meeting and paced around Taran. 'It's decided then! You shall give you the Black Cauldron.'

'You're giving the cauldron to us?' Eilonwy smiled.

The eldest witch laughed as she pushed Taran away. 'You're not listening! We never give anything away… What we do is… Bargain… Trade…' As she said all this, she was looking at Taran's sword who immediately pulled it away from her.

'Well you won't have my sword!' Taran said.

'No sword, no cauldron.' the second witch put in.

Fflewddur looked at his harp forlornly before stepping up. 'If I might ask ladies that you might consider this harp?'

'A harp?' the eldest witch scoffed as she pulled two strings, letting them go which knocked the Fflewddur backwards. 'Why do we need a harp when we can listen to the birds?'

She clapped her hands and pink canaries appeared, chirping as they flew out from the hole. Gurgi pulled the witch's robes.

'Gurgi offer this…' he said and opened his paws, revealing an apple core.

The oldest witch glanced at the gore in disgust. 'Who would…'

'Hold it sister!' the second witch snatched the core from Gurgi's paws. 'Not so fast!' With one bite, she crushed the apple core, savouring the juice.

Her older sister shook her head and turned Kairi, Krocken, Donald and Goofy. 'Well… What do you have to offer?'

Kairi nudged Krocken. 'Come on Krocken, surely you have something of value to trade?'

Krocken shook his head adamantly. 'Every treasure in the Safe of Many cannot be traded in. They're either too valuable or dangerous to be given into the wrong hands.'

Goofy and Donald dug into their pockets, looking for anything of value. Donald managed to pull out a few Munny coins while Goofy pulled out a few wrapped sweets.

'Will these do?' Donald asked with a smile.

The eldest witch looked at each items before shaking her head, turning towards Kairi in expectation. Kairi held her hand out, Bear Princess appearing in her hand.

'What about this sword of mine?'

The eldest witch's eyes widened with interest and took the key-blade from Kairi's hands. As the witch admired Kairi's key-blade, Krocken tapped Kairi on the shoulders.

'FYI, the key-blade cannot be given away and will return back to its…'

The eldest witch gasped as Bear Princess disappeared from her hands and reappeared back into Kairi's hands.

'Original owner.' Krocken finished.

Kairi looked embarrassed as the eldest witch turned back to Taran, looking expectingly at him. Taran sighed and spoke in a resigned voice.

'All right… I know what you want.' He knelt down with the sword in his palms. 'Here is my sword. Take it.'

The eldest witch danced with glee before the sword, which was glowing with some sort of blue aura. However, she acted hesitant first. 'Are you sure duckling? Remember: with this sword, you can become the greatest warrior of all!'

Taran nodded sadly. 'Yes… I offer my dearest possession in exchange for the Black Cauldron.'

The eldest witch smiled. 'Agreed! You have made a bargain!' With a gesture, the three witches in a whirlwind of blue magic. The sword shook in Taran's hands before disappearing, leaving everybody astounded. They could still hear the witch's laughter as the hovel shook and every belongings floated around the party. The party crowded closer to one another, watching out for any incoming pottery.

'This isn't good!' Kairi shouted. 'Look out!'

'Fiddlesticks!' Donald yelled as he ducked a skillet. 'I should have known to never trust a witch!'

'You should have say something like that at the very beginning!' Krocken shouted back.

The winds became stronger in the hovel as it slowly blew the hovel from its foundation and lifted it up, lifting both the hovel and the furniture with it. Strangely, the wind did nothing to affect Kairi and the others as they braced themselves against the gusts. However, they were not out of the woods yet.

The cauldrons that they discovered earlier now flew towards them, the blue whirlwind sucking all of the pottery. Kairi and Donald pointed their weapons towards the incoming cauldrons.

'Protectga!'

A blue shield covered everyone as the cauldrons bounced of them, disappearing in the heart of the whirlwind. Once every cauldron was gone, the wind stopped and everything was calm. Kairi and Donald broke the shield as the others got up, dusting their clothes and looking around in wonder.

'Glad that's over. A-hyuk!' Goofy said.

'Without warning, the ground shook violently: making everyone bounced off the earth. Donald glared at his friend.

'Did you have to say that?'

'Look!' Eilonwy shouted suddenly, pointing towards a hill.

Everybody turned to where Eilonwy was pointing towards, watching as the hill shook and cracked opened. Red smokes rushed out from the crater as something erupted from the ground. Despite being covered in earth, it was a metallic in the colour of night black. It was as big as any of them. Still rooted to the ground, the black pot stood before them.

'It's the Black Cauldron!' Taran gasped. 'It's ours!'

Then they heard the shrieking and laughing of the three witches above them, prompting them to look up. It was a hologram of the three witches, surrounded by purple clouds. They were smiling deviously and laughing.

'What funny little ducklings?' the eldest witch taunted. 'Don't they know that the Black Cauldron is indestructible?' she then turned seriously towards the stupefied party. 'Now listen carefully, the Black Cauldron can never be destroyed! Its evil powers cannot be stopped!'

'But there is a way!' Taran insisted. 'But how?'

'A living being must climb into it, on his own free will!' the eldest witch answered.

'Gurgi is bold and brave! He will climb into the evil cauldron' Gurgi said as he jumped towards the Black Cauldron. He landed onto the rim and he was about to drop into it until the eldest witch continued.

'However, the poor duckling can never climb out alive.'

Gurgi looked inside the cauldron in horror. 'Eep… Yikes!' He jumped off the cauldron and landed into Taran's arms.

'N-now look here madam!' Fflewddur shook his finger at the witches. 'Don't forget we had an agreement!'

'Yes!' Eilonwy joined in. 'You said we can have the cauldron!'

'Of course we said you can have the cauldron.' the second witch said. 'It's not our fault you can't do anything with it!'

The three witches laughed and disappeared, the purple clouds carrying them away. The eldest witch's voice boomed before they disappeared for good. 'Goodbye ducklings… Remember, we will always keep a bargain!'

The party heard only the laughter of the three witches as they left them. Donald grumbled. 'Never trust a witch!'

Kairi turned to Krocken, worried about their current situation. 'Is this true? Is it possible that they could be lying?'

To her dismay, Krocken shook his head. 'What they say is true… Why bother lying when they have the most powerful sword in the world?'

Kairi looked back at Taran who was looking hopelessly at where the witches were and back at the Black Cauldron. Eilonwy gently placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to comfort him. The party was left all by themselves, with only the Black Cauldron and the marshes keeping them company.


	17. Reunion

It was a somber and depressing mood in the small camp Kairi and her friends made, the fire keeping the place warm and illuminated. The night brought in cold and terror with it, making the Marshes of Morva more ominous and horrifying than it was. The group feared any attacks from nocturnal predators but so far, they were left alone. Either because the fire kept the wild beasts at bay or their part was too big a target.

This did not made the feel the group any better as they thought on what to do with the Black Cauldron next, none of them trying to think of another way of destroying the demonic artefact without any loss of life. The ominous cauldron was still poking out from the ground, the colour of the iron matching the night. To the normal eyes, it looked like a mundane cauldron but the group knew better. As Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur, Doli and Gurgi were staring into the fire gloomily, Kairi, Krocken, Donald and Goofy were discussing among themselves.

'What should we do now?' Donald asked, making sure his voice was quiet.

'Maybe we can get some stuff and start making soup.' Goofy said, trying to make the situation light. He was ignored.

'Krocken.' Kairi spoke up, addressing the blue dinosaur. 'Couldn't you just put the Black Cauldron in the Safe of Many and safeguard it from the Horned King?'

Krocken considered Kairi's question before nodding. 'Yes I can. Without his Heartless army, the Horned King will personally pursue me and that I can handle. However,' he looked at Kairi, genuinely concerned for her. 'What would happened if he doesn't get the Black Cauldron and the Crystal of Hearts? He would kill Sora out of rage. Surely you don't want that to happen?'

Kairi recoiled, stunned at Krocken's words. She lowered her face, her long auburn hair hiding her face. The reason why she began this quest was to find Sora and bring him home again but as a key-blade wielder and one of the Princesses of Heart, it was her duty to protect all life from evil. If the Horned King managed to bring Vagnar back to life, they will all perish. If they hid the Black Cauldron away from the Horned King, he might use Sora as a bargaining chip or kill him.

Kairi's face was still hidden, trying to think of what was the right course of action. She knew both Donald and Goofy were giving her sympathetic looks but there was nothing they can offer to help her in her dilemma.

'Will you all stop looking so depressed for a moment?' Krocken snapped, making all of them jumped. 'Look, as long as we have the Black Cauldron, the Horned King will not kill Sora and will probably use him as a bargaining chip. Before he can do that, we must sneak into his castle and rescue Sora.'

'That sounds like a great idea!' Donald quacked. 'We can do it!'

A smile appeared on Kairi. 'We will rescue Sora and save everybody in the end!'

'Maybe we can even give the Horned King a fake cauldron in exchange for Sora! A-hyuk!'

Krocken nodded, a smile appearing on his face. 'Yes! That would work!'

Kairi smiled and placed a hand on Krocken's claws. 'Thanks for giving us some hope Krocken.'

Krocken just snorted. 'I had to. I can't bear to see you lot miserable. Morale is already low as it is already.'

Donald's smile was the first to fall. 'What are we going to do about others? Taran looked extremely quiet after he gave his sword to those witches.'

They turned to look at Taran, the boy gloomily poking the fire with a stick. After giving up his sword the witches, Taran had been silent when they made camp. The boy had been looking wistfully at the fire. Times they will see the boy looked into his hands as if the sword was still in his possession.

'What can we do?' Krocken gave a reptilian shrug. 'Without his sword, there's nothing he can do to continue this quest. We just take the cauldron off their hands and escort them back to Eilonwy's father castle, where they can be safe. I believe its better like this.'

Kairi glared at the blue dinosaur. 'You know Krocken, you could show a bit more sympathy and emotions for others.' Before Krocken could open his mouth to protest, Kairi continued in a gentle tone. 'This is more of a quest for Taran. This was an opportunity for him to be something bigger, maybe a hero. Without the sword, he feels… Nothing.'

The two groups fell into silence as the fire flickered and crackled before them, sending sparks into the air. Impatience as ever; Doli was the first one to break the silence.

'What a bunch of blundering misfits!' the fairy announced angrily. 'That's what you get for messing with people!' He turned to Taran's shock face. 'You can go back to feeding pigs! I've had it! Goodbye!' He then disappeared into dust, probably heading back to the fairy-folks.

'Doli's right.' Taran said miserably. 'It was my fault. I let you all down. Without my sword, I'm Nothing! Just… An assistant pig-keeper.'

'Don't be so hard on yourself Taran.' Eilonwy said, lifting Taran's head to face her. 'You must believe in yourself.' She smiled, blushing slightly. 'I do.'

It was Taran's turn to blush as his brown eyes met with Eilonwy's blue eyes, staring into one another. Fflewddur and Gurgi were wearing big grins as they watched the beautiful moment between their two friends, the Marshes of Morva forgotten. Eilonwy continued to smile at Taran as the boy stuttered for a reply. Deciding to spare Taran the embarrassment, Kairi stepped in.

'Eilonwy is right Taran.' she began. 'When Sora lost his weapon, he continued searching for me despite the dangers and the fact that he had no weapons. You don't need a weapon to make you a hero. What matters is what inside of you.' She touched where her heart was when she spoke.

Donald and Goofy nodded, in agreement with Kairi. Even Krocken smiled. Taran looked around, smiling at his friends. 'Thank you everyone. I'm indeed blessed. You all have been good friends, even you, Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Krocken. Now it is up to me to see us all through the end.'

'There's no need to be brave.' Kairi said. 'We will see this through the end. Together.'

'Yes.' Eilonwy agreed, holding Taran's hands. 'Together.'

'TOGETHER!' Donald, Goofy, Fflewddur and Gurgi shouted together. Taran smiled, receiving the support from his friends.

Krocken's reptilian face broke into a smile, only to fall as his sharp ears picked up something. 'We got company…'

Kairi, Donald and Goofy immediately became alert and pulled out their weapons, forming a protective circle around Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur and Gurgi: Krocken also joining in with his katana.

'Stay behind us.' Kairi told her new friends as Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess appeared in her hands.

While Taran and the other nodded, the outsiders prepared for battle. They did not have to wait long. The shadows that were created by the fire changed and slowly rose up, forming into figures. These figures had yellow glowing eyes and tendrils sprouting on top of their heads. Their faces were painted with curvy smiles. They wobbled in the shadows, their claws and feet looking dangerously sharp. More of these figures rose from the shadow, surrounding the party.

'What are these things?' Taran asked, horrified at the new creatures.

Kairi looked around in disbelief. 'Heartless… But it's impossible!' She turned to Krocken. 'Have Maleficent and the Horned King formed an alliance?'

'I doubt it.' Krocken replied, not bothering with sarcasm. 'Maleficent want to rule this a world, not destroy the universe. Looks like these are the Horned King's last remainder of the Heartless army.'

'Any case.' Goofy inputted, holding up his shield. 'We got to hold this fellows off Taran at the others!'

'For once, I agree with Goofy!' Donald said.

At once, the Shadows closed in onto the group: reaching out with their claws. Kairi sprinted forward and slashed at two shadows, sending pink hearts floating into the sky. The Shadows opened their maws and charged towards Kairi, trying to overwhelm her through sheer number. Kairi swung her two key-blades in a whirlwind movement, slicing any Heartless who were unfortunate enough to have charged her in mid-air.

With katana in his claws, Krocken sliced through the Shadows. He stomped his feet into the ground, sending ice spikes sporting from the ground: impaling any Shadows in the way. Donald cast a magical shield to protect Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur and Gurgi, allowing Goofy to join in the fray. Goofy slammed his shield into the Shadows, knocking them towards Kairi or Krocken's blades.

Following the Shadows were the Soldiers and Armoured Knights, their helmets and armours clanking loudly as they charged towards the group. Goofy had to protect Kairi's rear as the redhead fend off the new Heartless, slowly thinning the ranks. Krocken froze the charging enemies one last time before using his skills with the blade, cutting down the motionless Heartless. Seeing that his friends were being outnumbered, Donald lowered the shield and pointed his staff.

'Firaga! Thundaga! Blizzaga!'

Fire, lightning and ice fell from the sky, striking down at the Heartless army, as Kairi, Krocken and Goofy continued to thin down the Heartless army. All this time, Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur and Gurgi were watching in awe, amazed at their new friends prowess in battle.

Soon all the Shadows, Soldiers and Armoured Knights were defeated leaving only pink hearts floating in the air. Although no one was injured, Kairi, Donald and Goofy, even Krocken, were breathing heavily: taxed from the waves and waves of the Heartless. After the last pink heart faded away, Kairi straightened up from her fighting stance as her key-blades disappeared from her hands.

'That's the last of them!' she panted. 'I hope this will make the Horned King sweat.'

'I hope!' Donald gasped, falling onto his bottom. 'I'm beat!'

Goofy nodded, his tongue hanging out. 'I could do with a meal right now.'

Krocken nodded, putting back his katana. 'This must be the Horned King's last desperate attempt to get our Crystals of Hearts. I'm surprised that this was the best he could offer.' He frowned. 'Unless…'

'That was incredible!' Taran said, stepping forward. 'I've never seen a girl fight like that! I will never look down on girls ever again.'

'You should had at the very beginning.' Eilonwy snorted before turning to Kairi, concern on her face. 'Are you all right Kairi?'

'It's nothing.' Kairi assured her, getting back her breath. 'I will get my breath back.' She turned to Krocken, confused. 'Unless what Krocken? What other purpose can this attack benefit the Horned King?'

'Who cares about that?' Donald interrupted, getting back onto his feat. 'We need to get out of here! Let's get the Black Cauldron and go somewhere safe before…'

'Look out!' Eilonwy pointed behind Kairi.

Before she could turn to what Eilonwy was pointing to, something slammed into Kairi: pushing her down into the ground. She felt all her energy drained from her body, weakening her. She opened her eyes and found herself being covered by what looked like a normal rope net, except that there was a yellow glow emitting from the net.

Kairi found herself to weak to free herself, the magical net draining what energy and strength was left in her body. She looked around and saw that Donald and Goofy were caught in another magical net together while Krocken was pinned down, they too had their strength drained by the magical net.

'Unless.' Krocken said, still have the ability to speak. 'That Heartless attack was to weaken us so that the Horned King's lowly mercenaries can take us prisoners.'

Kairi grunted, making failed attempts to push the net off her. 'A bit too late to mention that huh?'

More figures stepped out from the thick fog, surrounding the party. The Horned King's henchmen were armed with spears, swords and clubs as they approached them. Some of them wore mismatched armour and some wore horned helmets. They all wore grins as they tugged at the nets, gleeful with their capture.

'We caught some pretty fish! The Horned King will be please with us!'

The only ones who were not pinned by the magical nets were Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur. Why would they? They were weaponless, no magic powers and were only a princess, a bard and an assistant pig-keeper. Despite her entrapment, she frowned. Where was Gurgi? Did he manage to escape?

Her thoughts were cut short as she was rudely pulled up onto her feet, a wave of unwashed body reaching her nose. She wrinkled her nose as the Horned King's henchman grinned, flashing yellow teeth.

'You're a pretty one aren't?' he drawled. 'After the Horned King is done with the pig-boy, maybe you can entertain us.'

Kairi turned her head away in disgust, ignoring the man as he laughed, dragging her away. She saw Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur bounded and being marched forward with spears pointed towards them, forcing them forward. Behind her were Krocken, Donald and Goofy, still trapped in the nets and being dragged by the barbarians. Four of them were pulling the Black Cauldron from the ground and slowly lifted onto their shoulders, grunting at the weight.

The leader looked around and nodded in satisfaction. 'We're done here! Let's return back to the Horned King!'

* * *

It was a long and terrifying journey as the party was herded and dragged through the Marshes of Morva, the forest they had been and the Horned King's domain. It was Kairi, Krocken, Donald and Goofy's first time in the Horned King territory while Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur were here before, although they still looked frightened. If the Marshes of Morva was ominous, the Horned King's castle and domain was devoid of life and full of dread. At least the marshes had trees and some form of vegetation while the Horned King's domain was just barren.

They were herded up the path that led to the Horned King's castle, Kairi can see Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur shivering at the sight of it. She could not blame them as they were imprisoned there and faced horror outside their imagination. The thoughts of being imprisoned in such a place made Kairi fearful for not only herself but for her friends but at the same time, she was glad she was here.

She finally found Sora.

They passed through the gate where they were greeted by more barbarians and growling dogs, looking at them. The party were pushed into the castle where they have to walk down a staircase into a big chamber. It was made out of stones with multiple pillars supporting the roof with arcs between them. In the middle of the chamber was a stone podium with steps on each side. At the side of the chamber were piles of skeletons still wearing armour and helmets and armed with weapons that they carried when they were alive.

Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur were tied with their wrists hanging from the arcs while Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Krocken were freed from the nets but were poked with spears. Getting the hint, Kairi, Krocken, Donald and Goofy were prodded to where the others were tied. One by one, the henchmen tied Kairi, Donald and Goofy onto the arcs: leaving them hanging in the air. Krocken growled as he was chained to the floor, his claws and feet shackled to the stone floors and his tail pinned by an iron shackle.

The men who were carrying the Black Cauldron place the foul pot on the podium, allowing the group to have full view of the dark artefact. Ever since entering the Horned King's domain, the Black Cauldron started shaking slightly: shaking off the dirt that clung to it. Now it stood there clean as new and shining with black brilliance. Supporting it were three legs shaped like claws and chiselled on the surface was the face of a man with a beard and a frown, looking menacing.

Once they were done tying the party to the arcs, they retreated into the shadows. Once they were gone, two henchmen brought in another figure. He was a boy same age as Kairi with spiky brown hair and sky-blue eyes. He wore black clothes and pants, black gloves covering his hands and red sneakers on his feet. He was dragged into the chamber by two of the henchmen by the arms as the boy looked up.

Kairi and Sora's eyes met for a long time.

'Sora!' Kairi cried, unable to believe it was real.

Sora looked up and shook his head, focussing his eyes. 'Kairi? Is that… You?' He looked around and spotted Donald and Goofy. 'Donald? Goofy? You too?' His eyes fell on Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur. 'You guys? I thought I told you to get away from here?'

'Pipe down!' one of the henchman snarled. 'You will be joining them too.'

They dragged Sora to where the party was tied to and tied him next to Kairi, leaving him having with his friends. Sora looked at Kairi, worry mixed with happiness.

'Kairi…' he started. 'I'm so happy, but worried, that you're here. Did they hurt you?'

'Well besides getting pinned down by a magical net and roughed around by thugs, we're fine. And I'm glad we found you.' she said, tears brimming her eyes. 'I was so worried! We travel world after world just to find you…'

'World after world?' Sora asked in surprise. 'Kairi… You did all of this… Just to find me… I…'

'Ahem!' Krocken coughed loudly, making Kairi and Sora jerked in surprise. 'Sorry to interrupt your precious reunion but you two realised we're chained and one of us is going to be sacrificed for the Horned King's ritual?'

For the first time, Sora noticed Krocken. 'Woah! Hey… Sorry man… You are?'

Kairi intervened. 'Sora, this is Krocken: a friend of Mickey and who had been helping us on this quest. You're his first choice as a hero.'

'You mean you got my girlfriend on this quest?' Sora asked Krocken.

The blue dinosaur just shrugged. 'If you're going to blame me for getting your girlfriend on this dangerous adventure, then in my defence, she was the one who insisted on doing it. So I did my best to help her along the way and she turned out very well. If I were you, I should be proud of her.'

Sora opened his mouth to argue and then closed it. He turned to face Kairi. 'I didn't want you to get hurt… Just because of me.'

Kairi smiled. 'Sora… You risked everything to find me. Now it's my turn. I can never live with myself if anything bad happened to you.'

Sora looked up. 'Kairi…'

They stopped talking as something green and small bounced into the chamber. It was smaller than Gurgi but instead of fur was skin as green as slime. Only one of it yellow eye was opened as it darted sideway and small tusks protruded from its lower lips. It wore a purple cowl and brown shirt, not covering its claws and feet with its ears poking out from the cowl. The goblin hopped onto the podium and onto the cauldron, looking down into the cauldron and glancing fiendish looks at the party.

'Why isn't it our heroes who try to stop the master's plans.'

'Creeper…' Sora whispered.

'You know,' the goblin sneered as he hanged onto the handle of the Black Cauldron. 'You can always destroy the cauldron anytime soon.' He swung on the rim of the cauldron. 'Oh wait, you can't! Because the only way to destroy the cauldron is to jump into the cauldron and you will end up…' he mimicked choking himself, making a face before laughing menacingly.

Sora looked at Creeper with distaste. 'And what make you think your "master" won't throw you into the Black Cauldron for his ritual, Creeper?'

Creeper stopped laughing and looked concerned. He started stammering to the amusement of the party. 'B-because I'm master's loyal servant! That's right! Master won't be putting me in the cauldron but it will probably… Oh master!'

The goblin stopped stammering as he bounded off the cauldron and towards the entrance where he came from, the Horned King slowly descending the staircase. As he entered the chamber, the party could already feel the coldness and dread emanating from the skeletal being. In his pale arms was a package wrapped in brown clothes.

Kairi shivered and turned to Sora. 'Did… He torture you?'

Sora shrugged casually but Kairi can tell he was hiding the worst from her. 'Besides the starvation and the occasional whipping, I'm fine. Really…'

'Sora, please don't hide from me.' Kairi whispered. 'I know when you're hiding things.'

Sora nodded reluctantly. 'He would go into a rage when he couldn't get his hands on the Crystals of Hearts and would vent his anger on me. It was worst when I helped Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur to escape. I can still feel the pain in myself.'

'Sora…' Eilonwy now spoke up. 'We're sorry we put you through all that suffering…'

'If I had known, I wouldn't had…' Kairi began.

'No.' Sora said firmly. 'Stopping the Horned King from resurrecting Vagnar is more important. What you did was right Kairi.'

'Silence!' Creeper screeched, he and the Horned King stood before the Black Cauldron. The Horned King had dropped the package onto the floor and walked up to where the party was tied to, a smirk on his skeletal face.

'You thought you could stop the master's return? You only delayed the inevitable' he laughed, leering at them. 'I commend your effort in keeping the Crystals of Hearts from me but I don't need them anymore. You can keep your precious stones, I have a new key now!'

He gestured at the Black Cauldron. 'Behold the Black Cauldron. Forged out of the metal of Vagnar's staff. For years, my mediocre peers have used this cauldron to create an army of the undead and rule this world but they did not see the bigger picture! They did not see fit to resurrect our master!'

He snarled he turned back to his prisoners. 'For their foolishness, they have perished. Because they're weak and lack the power of our master! Now, I will bring Vagnar back and I will be rewarded for my loyalty! I will by his side as we conquer worlds and the entire universe. And…' he straightened his index finger, poking it into Sora's chest. 'Your heart will be the key of Vagnar's awakening, young key-blade wielder.'

'Leave him alone!' Kairi shouted angrily, trying to jerk herself free.

The Horned King lowered his hand and grinned at Kairi. 'All in good time my dear girl but first…' the Horned King walked towards the parcel and unwrapped it, revealing a skeletal warrior. 'I will raise an army of the dead and conquer Prydain! A gift for my master!'

He dropped the skeleton into the cauldron, the sound of bones hitting on the metal echoing in the chamber. 'Now I call upon my army of the dead, the Cauldron-Born! Rise messengers of death! Our time has arrived!'

The Black Cauldron slowly shook until the shaking violently. Those who were watching did not believe as they saw what looked like blood flowing out from the cauldron and spilled onto the floor. The claw-like legs closed before slamming into the ground. Purple light surrounded the cauldron before the cauldron spewed out lava and fire into the air. Before the astounded eyes of the prisoners, the flames swirled as it formed a monstrous skull with black eyes glaring out before retreating back into the cauldron.

Then green smoke erupted from the Black Cauldron and spilled onto the floor, flowing all over the chambers like green snakes. When they reached the lifeless skeletons, the green smokes flowed into the empty eye sockets and into the gaping mouths. As the skeletons were enveloped in the green smokes, something was happening.

They looked in horror as the skeletons that laid lifeless on the ground slowly rose, bones cracking and ancient armour and weapons clanked loudly. They stood up slowly, wobbly on their bony feet, before moving towards the henchmen who were standing at the doorway, witnessing what was their triumphant. The henchmen screamed and dropped their weapons, dashing towards the nearest exit as the undead followed after them: sauntering slowly.

'It's horrible!' Eilonwy gasped, fear in her voice.

'It's happening again…' Krocken whispered. 'This land will be overrun by the dead and all living will perish…'

'Ah… my beloved warriors.' the Horned King said, acting like a proud father. 'Asleep from ancient past and now awaken to my bidding!' He pointed towards the door where the human henchmen fled. 'Go forth my warriors! Destroy everything in your path!'

As the skeletons marched slowly towards the exit, Creeper was jumping and clapping in delight. 'Wonderful!' he cackled as the undead warriors stumbled pass him and the Horned King. He tugged at his master's robes. 'Come sire! We can get a better view from above!'

The Horned King demurred, looking at his prisoners. 'A moment Creeper… I must sacrifice the key-blade wielder to awaken my master…'

'That can wait sire!' Creeper said excitedly. 'The little worms aren't going anywhere! We must enjoy our… I mean your creations!'

The Horned King thought about it and gave in, following Creeper up the staircase. When they were gone, the prisoners tried to free themselves from their bindings: to no avail.

'He's going to destroy all of Prydain with those… Monsters!' Eilonwy cried, trying to pull herself free.

'I know but we have to escape first!' Taran said, grunting as he tried to loosen the ropes around his wrist.

'Sora, can you touch my necklace?' Kairi asked, making her ruby necklace visible.

Sora looked at it, surprised. 'Necklace? When did you get…'

'Just hurry up!'

Sora stuck out his tongue in concentration and raised his legs into the air. Careful not to kick Kairi, he moved his right leg and the tip of his sneaker touched the necklace. Seeing Sora's sneaker touching her necklace, Kairi recited.

'I summon thee!'

The ruby glowed and a bright light appeared, almost blinding them. The light dimmed as three small figures appeared, hovering above them. Yuna, Rikku and Paine hovered in front of Kairi, smiling at her.

'Hey there!' Yuna greeted. 'You need help?'

Sora looked up, his surprise increasing. 'You guys are…'

'The ones who helped you fight off the baddies at Hollow Bastion.' Rikku said, hovering before Sora.

'The ones you haven't pay for helping you.' Paine added.

'Yeah!' Kairi joined in, glaring at Sora. 'I can't believe you didn't reward these girls after all the help they gave you!'

Sora lowered his head, guilty. 'Erm… It was Donald's idea.'

'Sora!' Donald protested. 'I had to tell them…'

'Can we please concentrate of getting out of here before we play the blame game?' Krocken snapped.

'Sorry.' Kairi apologised and turned to Yuna. 'Can you untie our binds?'

Yuna smiled as Rikku and Paine began untying her bounds. 'We will let you out in a jiffy!'

'Gurgi will help too!'

To the party's surprise, Gurgi jumped through a window and landed on top of the arcs.

'Gurgi!' Taran shouted with relief. 'What are you doing here?'

'Gurgi's sorry when he always run away from trouble.' he said soberly. 'Gurgi will free everyone and we will leave this evil place.'

Gurgi and the sprites began freeing everyone and soon, Kairi and Sora were freed at the same time. As the others were being freed, Sora and Kairi looked at each other. So many emotions filled them as they stared into each other eyes: trying to decide whether it was real or a dream. Tears in her eyes, Kairi flung herself not Sora: hugging him tightly. Sora gasped, Kairi's hug a bit tight for him.

'Kairi…' he gasped.

'This is real!' Kairi sobbed, burying her face in Sora's chest. 'After so long, I can't believe this is real! I'm so… happy!'

Sora smiled and lifted Kairi's face, wiping her tears away. 'Kairi… When I was imprison, I always dreamt that I'm with you. I'm so glad you're here. Thank you… For rescuing me.'

Kairi smiled and the couple held in warm embrace, smiling at each other. Then a cough interrupted their moment.

'Do you mind?' Krocken said impatiently, he was still chained. 'We got a madman and a lich to stop and you two are embracing? Can you do that when we're not going to be horribly killed?'

'Come on Krocken.' Goofy defended them, rubbing his wrist. 'Let the two have their moment.'

Donald, taking this seriously, pulled his wand and pointed it at the shackles that kept Krocken chained. 'This might hurt a bit.' he warned.

Krocken shrugged. 'Can't be as bad as what the Horned King is planning.'

Donald muttered and cast a fire spell to melt the shackles, Krocken wincing slightly at the heat. Gurgi was untying Fflewddur and Eilonwy was rubbing her wrist as Sora and Kairi separated, looking sheepishly.

'Sorry about that Krocken.' Kairi said as the sprites disappeared, their work here done. The blue dinosaur only snorted as two of his shackles have melted and he was able to move his claws.

'Taran, what are you doing?' Sora suddenly shouted.

In the confusion, Taran had climbed onto an arc that was above the Black Cauldron and was nearing it. At Sora's question, he turned to look at him. There was a look of determination on his face.

'You get Eilonwy and Fflewddur out of here. I must stop the cauldron!'

Knowing what he was going to do, Sora shouted. 'Taran no! If anyone should do it, it should be me!'

'And awaken Vagnar?' Taran shouted back. 'Sora, you're a true hero so if you jump into the cauldron, you will bring back this Vagnar! I'm only a pig-keeper so I should do it!'

'Please Taran!' Eilonwy begged. 'No!'

'I'm sorry Eilonwy!' Taran said. 'But it's the only way!'

Taran, his mind made up, moved closer towards the edge of the arc: ready to plummet into the Black Cauldron. Being light and nimble, Gurgi climbed up the arc and jumped in front of Taran: putting himself between the boy and the Black Cauldron.

'Wait master! Gurgi won't make you jump into cauldron!'

'Gurgi!' Taran said impatiently, trying to catch the small woodland creature. 'Get out of the way!'

'Please master!' Gurgi begged. 'Don't go into evil cauldron!'

'If I don't, we're all lost!' Taran argued. 'Out of the way!'

'No master!' Gurgi said, hugging Taran. 'Gurgi cannot let his friend die!' he let go of the boy and walked towards the edge of the arc, his back hunched. 'Taran has many friends. New friends. Gurgi… Has no friends…'

Taran, as well everyone, were taken aback. 'Gurgi! Wait, don't jump!'

It was too late. Gurgi bravely leapt off the arc and he fell towards the Black Cauldron, Taran's arms missed him. Kairi and Sora gave a cry and pointed their key-blades.

'Gravity!' they shouted together, hoping their spell would prevent the woodland creature from falling any further.

Gurgi was falling so fast that by the time the key-blade wielders' magic materialised, the brave creature disappeared into the cauldron. The Black Cauldron spewed out flames again but this time, sucked in the green smokes into it: like a blackhole. More of the green smokes returned back to the Black Cauldron, the spell being undone.

The party watched as more green smokes were sucked in, hoping that Gurgi would appear. As the Black Cauldron's vacuum became stronger, they knew in their hearts that Gurgi was gone. Taran, who was still on the arc, covered his face.

'No…'

'We gotta get out of here!' Donald quacked, after he freed Krocken.

'The cauldron is losing its power!' Krocken added. 'It's going to send this place crashing down! We need to get out!'

'That's sounds like a fine idea!' Fflewddur said, looking frightened.

Taran climbed down from the arc and joined the others. 'You guys go on ahead! I'm going back to the cauldron! Maybe… Gurgi will…'

'Taran!' Krocken said bluntly. 'Gurgi is gone! He sacrificed himself to stop the undead army! If the Horned King gets his hands on you, he can renew the spell! We need to get out!'

'I don't care!' Taran shouted back. 'I'm going back!'

'We come too!' Kairi said and Sora nodded, horrified at Gurgi's sacrifice. She turned to Krocken. 'You take the others and get out of here. Sora and I will make sure Taran is safe. Even… Gurgi…'

Krocken looked at Sora, Kairi and Taran. He nodded. 'All right but don't get killed. Come on you lots, follow me!'

Krocken strode forward towards the nearby exit and Donald, Goofy, Eilonwy and Fflewddur followed after him: leaving only Sora, Kairi and Taran alone in the chamber with the Black Cauldron. Kairi and Sora looked at each other, their eyes met.

'Kairi.' Sora said. 'If… We don't make it… I just want to remind you: I love you!'

Kairi smiled. 'Sora, and I love you too but… Try to be more confident! We got out of worse situation like this! Remember when you and Riku were lost in the darkness but you managed to get back to me?'

A smile spread on Sora's face. 'It was because of your letter in the bottle. Yeah! Let's do this!' he pointed his key-blade into the ground before them. 'Gravity!'

He, Kairi and Taran were lifted into the air and descended to where the cauldron was. They landed onto their feet where they were caught by the vacuum the Black Cauldron. Sora and Kairi grabbed hold of a pillar while Taran latched himself to one closer to the staircase. Before they could plan their next move, they heard an angry bellow and the begging of a smaller creature.

'P-please master!' they can hear Creeper begging. 'D-don't throw me into the Black Cauldron! I'm begging you!'

The Horned King ignored his servant and scooped up a lifeless skeleton, shaking it furiously. 'Wake! Why won't you awake?'

Receiving no response or movement, the monster threw the skeleton away angrily before turning to the shivering Creeper. 'Your sacrifice will renew the ritual!'

Creeper started squirming, trying to wiggle himself free from the Horned King's grasp. The Horned King was too strong no matter how much he struggled. Fear flooded into his eyes but then it was lit with hope when he spotted Taran hanging onto his dear life to the pillar.

'Look master! It's the pig-boy!' Creeper cried excitedly. 'It was his fault! Yes! It was all his fault your spell stopped working!'

Fire burned i the Horned King's sockets as he turned to Taran. With a new focus of his wrath, he threw the hapless Creeper aside as he made his way towards Taran. He grabbed Taran by his scruff and pulled him towards his skeletal face, snarling.

'Pig-boy!' he growled. 'You have interfered for the last time! You will be the one to renew my spell!'

He lifted Taran into the air and edging closer towards the Black Cauldron, the poor boy trying to free himself like Creeper did. With a triumphant smile, the Horned King threw Taran towards the Black Cauldron. Before Taran could fall into the hellish pot, Kairi and Sora summoned their key-blades and chorussed together.

'Gravity!'

Taran slowed down and with great effort, the key-blade wielders pushed Taran down: landing him only at the base of the steps where the vacuum was not strong. Holding with rage, the Horned King approached Sora and Kairi.

'Key-blade wielders! Your kind may have destroyed my peers but I'm the Horned King! You're no match for me!'

Sora and Kairi let go of the pillar, balancing on their feet against the strong vacuum. They stood before him, defiant and ready to fight. Sora had his Kingdom Key while Kairi summoned Bear Princess to join Destiny's Embrace.

'We shall see about that!' Sora claimed. 'I had fought enemy worse than you. This is nothing new!'

'You're going to regret kidnapping Sora and breaking my heart!' Kairi said, her blue eyes piercing.

The Horned King growled. 'So be it!'

He summoned his sword as Sora and Kairi braced themselves into their fighting stance. The Horned King and the two key-blade wielders stop perfectly still, blades in hands, as they waited for one of them to make the first move.


	18. The Awakening

The Horned King snarled and stepped forward, swinging his sword in a rage. Sora blocked his blow with Kingdom Key while Kairi slashed both her key-blades at the Horned King. The Horned King growled and stepped away, Bear Princess almost cutting his leg off, before bringing his blade down on Kairi. Kairi blocked his attack with Destiny Embrace as Sora closed in, thrusting Kingdom Key towards the Horned King's side The Horned King growled and swung his sword sideway, knocking Sora's key-blade from his hand.

The Horned King raised his sword high to bring it down on the weaponless Sora but howled in pain when Kairi thrust Bear Princess into his abdominal. The Lich roared and jumped back, the key-blade sliding out from his skeletal body as black ichor flowed from his wound. He snarled as he opened his palm, facing it towards Kairi.

' ** _Curse you_**!'

Fire erupted from his hand and shot straight towards Kairi, who pointed Destiny's Embrace at the incoming flames.

'Blizagga!'

Ice shards materialised at the tip of the key-blade and rocketed forward, colliding with the fire. The ice shards melted into water while the flames turned into smokes, getting sucked in by the Black Cauldron. As the fight continues, the vacuum the Black Cauldron was giving was becoming stronger at the second. All combatants knew that and must bring a decisive end to the battle.

The Horned King roared angrily and more flames erupted from his hand, soaring towards Kairi. Since the flames were too great to be stop by her ice spells, Kairi instead cast _Protectga_ and a magic dome surrounded. The flames splashed all over the dome but Kairi was unharmed. Sweat began to appear on her face as the flames intensified, small cracks appearing on the dome.

Kingdom Key returned back to Sora's hands. Seeing his girlfriend in danger, Sora drew his arm back and flung Kingdom Key towards the Horned King. So lost in his concentration that the Horned King did not register the key-blade flying towards. He grunted in surprise as the key-blade slammed into his head, making him lose his focus on his magical attack.

The flames surrounding Kairi's shield dome dissipated and Kairi was freed to move forward. Even though the vacuum was strong, Kairi stood perfectly still as she opened her mouth to speak.

'Kai Jian.'

Red light simmered around her as the Dragon Armour covered her from head to toe. Kairi then sprinted forward and she just blinked right in front of the Horned King, surprising both the Lich and Sora. The Horned King managed to save himself as he blocked a downward strike followed by a sideway swing towards his stomach, barely blocking the blow with the pommel of his sword. Kairi landed on the balls of her feet and jumped into the air, cartwheeling over the Horned King and landing behind him. As soon as she landed on her, she spun around and slashed the Lich from behind.

The Horned screamed in pain as he stumbled forward, reaching for his back. He grunted several times as he reached out to the cut Kairi inflicted on him but before he could do anything, Kairi appeared before him and cross-slashed him in the chest. The Horned King howled in agony and looked down, seeing a cross-shaped wound on his chest. He glared at Kairi, eyes blazing.

' ** _Wretched girl! You will pay for your…_** '

He screamed in pain in mid-sentence as something pierced through his chest, making him drop his sword onto the floor. The Lich's sword hit the ground with a clatter as the Horned King stumbled backwards, flailing his arms wildly and roared in agonising pain. Before him was Sora, his key-blade raised at shoulder-level and light slowly dissipating from the tip.

Realising it was he who shot the Horned King with an Arrow of Light, Kairi walked next to him: her Dragon Armour fading away. 'Nice shot.'

Sora grinned as he lowered his key-blade. 'Thanks but that armour was impressive. How did you get that?'

Kairi smiled back. 'Long story.'

The Horned King continued to stumble backward, black ichor pouring from the wounds the two key-blade wielders have inflicted on him. He was gasping as he glared at Sora and Kairi again.

' ** _Insolent whelps! You think you can beat me? I'm the Horned King! I'm darkness incarnate! I'm…_** '

He gasped loudly as he tripped on Taran who crawled behind him and was on his fours, grunting when the Lich collided onto him. The Horned King screamed as he fell over but managed to latch onto something, saving him from falling face-first into the floor. His relief was immediately transformed to horror as he realised what saved him from the fall, the rims of the Black Cauldron.

' ** _No…'_** he gasped.

At that moment, the Black Cauldron's vacuum was strong enough to pull the Horned King closer to it, bringing him to the rim. The Lich tried to pull himself away from the deadly artefact but he did not have the strength to do so. He kept on begging, the vacuum drawing him deeper and deeper into the Black Cauldron.

' ** _No… NO… NO! I'M THE HORNED KING! I'M DARKNESS INCARNATE! IT CANNOT… END… LIKE THIS!'_**

His defiant roars were ignored as his robes were the first to be sucked into the Black Cauldron, followed by what skin was left on his body. Sora, Kairi and Taran watched in horror and disgust as the Horned King's skin was sucked off his bones, leaving his skeleton only his skeleton standing. The Horned King's skeleton glowed bright red and what looked like fire flowed from his body into the Black Cauldron, making the unholy pot shook violently.

Then all of the sudden, the skeleton disappeared with a loud explosion. Despite the horror they just witnessed, Sora, Kairi and Taran were still wary. They waited for some form or presence of the Horned King to show up but none appeared. Only the vacuums of the Black Cauldron was left as any traces of the Horned King was cleansed from existence.

The Horned King was no more.

Sora and Kairi slowly stood up as their key-blades disappeared from their hands. 'That's it. He is gone.' Kairi whispered.

Sora nodded, not looking relieved. 'Yeah… And so will we if we don't get out of here!'

The Black Cauldron glowed to bright orange as it sunk into the ground, causing the entire castle to rumble and cracks to spread out in all directions. Sora quickly grabbed hold of Taran and pulled him onto his feet, dragging him away from the Black Cauldron. The Black Cauldron disappeared deeper into the castle as stones and pillars fell towards the ground, brining the castle down. Sora, Kairi and Taran ran passed the falling debris, trying to find an exit while avoiding being crushed by falling rocks. As they looked around, they heard their names being called.

'SORA! KAIRI! TARAN! OVER HERE!'

The trio made their way towards the voice, increasing their pace as the wreckage and destruction was becoming more apparent. To their surprise and relief, it was Krocken who had called them: Donald, Goofy, Eilonwy and Fflewddur behind him.

'We gotta get out of here!' Kairi shouted as Taran and Eilonwy hugged each other, relief on their faces.

'Thank goodness you're safe!' Taran said, embracing Eilonwy tightly.

Krocken nodded. 'This way! Hurry!'

The blue dinosaur led the party as Sora, Donald and Kairi pointed their weapons upwards, casting a shield dome over the party. The falling debris pelted off the magical shield and pillars simply crashed on them without leaving a mark. It was becoming extremely difficult to find any exit as their paths were blocked by rubble and fire bursting from the ground.

'There's no way out!' Eilonwy gasped. 'We're trapped!'

'There must be a way out from here!' Donald shouted, looking around desperately.

'The underground river!' Sora suddenly shouted. 'There's a boat that will lead us out of the castle!'

'We better hurry then!' Goofy said as more fire shot out from the ground.

It was Sora's turn to lead the party as they make their way down the castle where they found the staircase that led to the underground canal. They hurried down the staircase and sure enough, there was a small boat still tied to a pole: undamaged from all the chaos.

Everybody jumped onto the boat as Taran untied the ropes, jumping in with the others. Goofy and Fflewddur grabbed and oar each and pushed it into the water, pushing the boat towards the exit. Horror and disappointment filled their faces as the only way out was chained, with a heavy padlock on it.

'Now we will never get out!' Fflewddur wailed. 'We're doomed!'

'Oh no we're not!' Sora said and summoned Kingdom Key again. He pointed the key-blade at the padlock and a beam of light shot out from the tip of the key-like weapon, entering the padlock. There was a loud click and the padlock opened by itself, falling into the water. Sora smiled as Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur looked at him in awe.

'T-that was amazing young man.' Fflewddur managed to say.

Sora shrugged. 'Done it a lot of times already.'

Kairi rolled her eyes but smiled. 'Show off.' she muttered and took out Destiny Embrace. 'Aeroga!'

Strong gust of air burst from the redhead's key-blade and slammed onto the gate, making the chains to slide into the water and for the metal gate to burst open. Kairi grinned at hefted her key-blade, looking at Sora who smiled back.

'Whose the show-off now?'

Krocken rolled his eyes but before he could snapped at them, Fflewddur gasped and pointed behind them. 'Look out!'

One of the pillars shook before falling down, landing into the water right behind the party's boat. The pillar created a splash big enough to create a giant wave to push the boat through the gateway and down the passageway, their terrified screams bounced off the walls as it was mixed with the loud splashing of water. The boat shot out from the canal just as a loud explosion was behind them.

The party turned around to see the Horned King's castle erupted in flames as it shook violently, making towers fall into the water. Stones and wood fell into the water as the castle collapsed, exploding into flames. When the fire was died down, all that was left of the Horned King's evil were burnt rubbles and ashes.

The party made their way towards the bank of the river, getting off the boat as they looked at where the Horned King's castle stood. Due to their fears, they were expecting the Horned King to reappear from the isle: hell-bent and seeking for revenge. What they were not expecting was Creeper flying on top of her purple drake, laughing manically. The small green goblin laughed as he flew passed the party, putting on small horns at the side of his head.

Sora looked up at the flying Creeper as he and the drake disappeared over the horizon. 'Looks like we're not the only ones happy that the Horned King is gone.'

'Looks like the little fellow earned his freedom.' Goofy smiled. 'A-hyuk!'

Kairi softly nudged her two friends in their sides. 'Sshhh… Not now guys… Gurgi…'

Sora and Goofy immediately sobered up as they turned to Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur who were not sharing their good mood. They may had defeated the Horned King and foiled his evil plan but over the loss of a friend. Taran kept looking at the ruins of the castle, looking longingly at it. Eilonwy, knowing what was on Taran's mind, placed her hands on his shoulders: in a way to comfort him.

Sora and Kairi were about to add in their own words of comfort when suddenly a small area of water bubbled in front of them. The bubbling intensified until something black floated onto the surface. It was the Black Cauldron but it was no longer the dark artefact it was before. It looked as if it paint was peeling off and it was no longer shining: looking like an ordinary pot.

Taran eyes widened at the sight of the Cauldron. 'Gurgi!' He gently pushed Eilonwy's hands off his shoulders as he was about to wade into the water. Before he could do that, they heard a shrill laughter above them. They all looked up and saw the three witches from the Marshes of Morva, laughing down at them.

'Why is the poor duck so sad?' the second witch asked with a wicked smile.

'Yes!' the eldest answered back. 'He got what he wanted and yet he is still not satisfied!'

Sora looked up at the witches in confusion. 'Who are these women?'

'They're the one who gave us the Black Cauldron in exchange for Taran's sword.' Kairi answered, looking at the witches in disgust.

'The sword that Taran found at the bottom of the Horned King's castle?' Sora asked in surprise. 'That's tough… Now what do they want?'

'Maybe they want to give us a refund?' Goofy suggested.

Krocken only shook his head. 'No Goofy, more like they had come back for the cauldron.'

Just what do you think you're up to, ladies?' Fflewddur demanded, unlike his character.

'But we have business with your little hero.' the eldest witch replied.

Taran turned his head away, sadly. 'I'm no hero. Gurgi was.'

'Of course.' the eldest witch sneered. 'All you ever cared about was the cauldron. But now it is absolutely useless now so we just take it and be on our way.'

The three witches were about to dive in for the cauldron when Fflewddur's voice stopped them, loud and clear. 'W-wait! Stay your hands ladies! We never give anything away!' he then wore smug looked, pretending to study his fingernails. 'We bargain… We trade!'

'Yeah!' Donald shouted in agreement, standing next to the bard with his hands folded across his chest. Sora, Kairi, Goofy and Krocken stood behind the bard and the duck, supporting their friends.

The eldest witch laughed, cupping her ear. 'Did this old ears heard the word "bargain"?'

'Yes!' Fflewddur confirmed, pulling his own earlobe. 'This "old" ears heard right!'

The plump witch looked adoringly at Fflewddur. 'Ooohhhh… I adore a brave old man!'

'Oh put yourself together madam!' Fflewddur scolded, no longer intimidated by the love-struck witch. 'Now come on! Out with it! What is your offer?'

The eldest witch was looking upset. 'No… Not that…'

'Then I'll do it!' the plump witch pointing downwards. Spark came out from her fingers as it materialised into something solid, surrounded in blue electricity. It flew down in front of Taran, floating just before him. It was the magical sword that Taran had to give to the witches to trade for the Black Cauldron. The blue lightning was replaced with orange fire, although it was harmless.

'A magnificent sword.' the plump witch said while the eldest had her back turned on them, her hands folding across her chest. 'For a warrior!'

Taran looked longingly at the sword, admiring the brilliance of the blade. Once in a while, a blue light will brimmed across the blade. The blade continued to give a powerful aura, enticing Taran to pick it up. Kairi constantly looked at Taran and at the witches who were impatient for Taran to make the trade, the second witch rubbing her hands gleefully while the eldest still have her back turned on them.

Taran's hand was about to touch the sword but suddenly he lowered it, shaking his head sadly. 'I'm not a warrior. I'm a pig-boy. What would I do with a sword?'

'Agreed!' the eldest witch exclaimed, pointing her fingers at the sword. Blue lightning shot out from her fingers and struck the sword, the sword pulled back towards them and disappearing into blue smokes. 'Absolutely nothing!'

Then Taran liked back at the witched. 'But I would trade…'

All three witches leaned in, hoping it was nothing valuable like the sword. 'Yes?' they asked together.

'The cauldron', Taran continued, lowering his head. For Gurgi.'

The plump witch gasped, as the other looked shocked at the request. 'It's not possible!' the eldest witch snapped.

Even Donald was on the witches'. 'I hate to say this but what they say is true. Bringing back the dead is forbidden among magic-users and…'

The others, however, were not having any of it. 'Just as I thought ladies!' Fflewddur accused them. 'You got no real power! Admit it! Admit it!'

'Yeah!' Kairi shouted too. 'You frauds!'

The witches reeled back, offended by the bard and Kairi's accusations. They snarled and their eyes glowed bright red as they dived downwards, heading towards the Black Cauldron. Halfway towards the cauldron they turned into purple wisps and flew around the dark artefact, increasing their pace. The Black Cauldron slowly floated into the air and glowed bright blue. Then all of the sudden, it exploded with light.

The party members had to shield their eyes as the light was blinding, even to the two key-blade wielders. Above them, the light transformed into black smokes swirling in a tornado. They can hear the else witch speaking out magical words followed by her laughter. Then the black tornado descended towards them without harming, swirling in front of Taran. The tornado slowly diminished into the ground, leaving a small figure lying on the river bank.

Taran knelt onto the ground and gently picked up Gurgi, his eyes closed and not making any movement. Tears were in his eyes as he turned back to the others, not bothering to wipe them away. He looked at his friends' faces, hoping for someone to offer something. When they had nothing to offer except looks of despair and sympathy, Taran buried his face into Gurgi's furry body and wept.

Her heart also breaking, Kairi turned to Sora and Krocken. 'Is there anything we can do?'

Sora reluctantly shook his head and even Krocken was lost for words. 'What… What is done is done.' He said sadly. 'No magic is powerful enough to bring back the dead. He… He's gone.'

They all stood there in silence, their heads lowered in sobered respect at a friend. Gurgi was a mischievous but friendly and loyal friend, the humblest of all woodland creature. They were in unfamiliar water as they saw the small furry body just lying in Taran's arms, motionless and lifeless: so used of seeing the woodland creature so full of life. The only sounds was Taran's weeping.

Eilonwy and Kairi was about to cry together with the boy when Eilonwy suddenly gasped and pointed at Gurgi's body.

Taran looked up to see what Eilonwy was crying about, only to reel back in shock. Black paw reached out for him and familiar voice mumbled.

'Munching and crunching and other wise…'

'Gurgi!' Taran cried out elated, accidentally dropping the woodland creature onto the ground. Gurgi rolled onto his feet, looking up at Taran. 'You're alive!'

'Oh Gurgi!' Eilonwy cried out happily. 'He's alive!'

The sad mood suddenly evaporated at Gurgi's awakening. Their sad faces transformed into jovial ones and happy laughter filled the air. Gurgi looked at his paws, wondering he was still alive or not. Everybody hugged each other and jumped into the air as Taran scooped Gurgi up into the air, swirling him around. Happy to be alive again, Gurgi hugged Taran. Eilonwy also joined in.

'Oh Gurgi! You clever little thing!'

The three friends hugged each other until a sly look appeared on Gurgi's face. He pushed Taran and Eilonwy's faces into each other, making their lips meet. Everybody giggled and laughed as the two of them shared a surprise kiss. They kissed deeply before breaking away, their faces as red as tomatoes. Seeing their friends laughing at their embarrassment, Taran and Eilonwy recovered from their surprise and laughed as well, embracing each other again.

Smiling at the couple's happiness, Kairi tapped on Sora's shoulder. 'Somebody owes me a kiss.'

Sora grinned and wrapped his arms around Kairi waist but before he could pull her closer to him, Kairi wrapped her arms around his head and pulled him closer instead. Their lips locked as they closed their eyes, lost in their bliss. Their separation has finally came to an end as they kissed deeply, sinking into each other embrace. They opened their eyes, reluctantly breaking the kiss.

'I miss those lips.' Sora grinned, hugging Kairi tightly. 'I thought I never get to feel them again.'

Kairi smiled, so happy to be with her beloved again. 'And I missed yours. I thought I never see you again!'

Krocken, who was standing nearby, smiled although he could not stopped himself giving a remark. 'Geez you two… Get a room.'

Sora and Kairi grinned as they continued to hold each other hands. 'Hey, where's Riku?' Sora asked. 'Did something happened to him?'

Kairi gasped. 'Oh god! Riku and the king! They had fallen for a spell that put them to sleep! We should…'

'Relax you two.' Krocken said, stepping in between them. 'With the Horned King gone, the spell will be broken. I'm sure that at this very moment, they should be waking up anytime soon.'

* * *

Riku moaned as he raised his head, yawning widely and rubbing away the sand from his eyes. He found himself on a bed that was not his. He looked around and found himself in one of the bedchambers in Disney Castle.

He frowned. The last thing he remembered was he and Mickey talking about the Heartless' recent sightings and some unknown threat looming. He was offering to fetch Sora when something floated onto them and then his mind became blank.

Before he could jump off the mattress, the door opened and to his relief, it was King Mickey.

'Your majesty!' he said. 'Are you all right? What just happened?'

'I've no idea myself.' Mickey admitted. 'But I found myself on my bed fast asleep like you. Before I came here, I checked the computer system for any Heartless attacks. To my surprise, Heartless activities have dwindled and there are only focussed in the World that Never Was. Wonder what happened while we were asleep?'

Riku rubbed his head, smiling. 'Sora… It must be Sora… I knew we can count on him…'

* * *

Goofy scooped Gurgi up into the air and raised him onto his shoulders, laughing together with the Woodland Creature. Donald was beaming at him.

'Boy you sure got us worried there little fellow.' Donald was saying.

'A-hyuk!' Goofy said, smiling at Gurgi. 'You're a true hero, Gurgi!'

Krocken was smiling but upon hearing Goofy's words, his smile faltered. 'Goofy… What did you say?'

Goofy looked at the blue dinosaur, surprise. 'Gosh Krocken, all I said was Gurgi is a true hero here.'

Kairi looked at Krocken who looked strangely pale. 'Krocken, what's wrong?'

'Oh no…' Krocken whispered, aghast. 'No… No… No…'

A loud explosion rumbled the entire land, almost knocking everybody off their feet and stopping their celebration. They turned to where the explosion was, just where the Horned King's castle last stood. Black clouds once again blanketed the sky and it swirled into a tornado, growing bigger and bigger by the second. Lightning bolts crashed into the earth as thunder rumbled loudly in the sky. Among the rumbling and thunder, the party can hear the shrill screaming of the three witches: not filled with laughter but with agony. The screaming faded away as the tornado now focussed on the remains of the Horned King's castle.

'W-what going on here?' Sora said as he wrapped his arms around Kairi protectively.

'Is it just me or is it getting colder here?' Donald said, shivering.

The tornado slowly died away and to the party's surprise, there stood the Black Cauldron. It hovered just above the ground as it glowed bright blue. Unlike before where it spewed out lava and fire, it unleash a dense fog that fell onto the ground. The fog froze everything it touches, freezing the ground and turning the water into ice. The black clouds slowly turned into grey, sending down snow as a cold wind cut into them.

'In order to revive Vagnar.' Krocken said in a dead voice. 'A true hero must be sacrificed into the Black Cauldron. In order to stop the Horned King's Cauldron-Born, Gurgi willingly and bravely sacrificed himself to save all of us. We may had stopped the Horned King but now, we faced something more terrible than he.'

Krocken's words sent chills into their spines as the cauldron began to shake violently. Black smoke swirled around the Black Cauldron as it slowly materialised. It expanded and grew tall, almost the same height as the Horned King's castle. To their horror, the Black Cauldron began to form into what looks like arms and legs, shaping into a humanoid being. The black form formed into a torn robes as the figure lifted its head.

The Horned King paled in comparison to Vagnar, the King of all Lich. Vagnar's face was nothing but a skull with horns protruding from his forehead and his skull cleaned of any flesh. Teeth were missing on its exposed jaws and blue fire burned within the black sockets that was supposed to be where the eyes were. His skeletal body was only covered by the black robes and chains, swaying against the cold hard winds. In his hand was a black staff, giving out a blue magical aura: full of dread and malice.

The party looked at Vagnar, horror written on their faces.

'W-what is that thing?' Eilonwy gasped, hiding behind Taran.

'The Destroyer of all that is Living.' Krocken replied in the same dead voice. 'The Vanquisher of the Light. The Destructor of Worlds. Vagnar, Master of all Lich and Undead.'

Vagnar opened his skeletal jaws, letting out a sigh and began speaking. His demonic voice carried at all directions, ringing in the party's ears.

 **'** **AAAAAAAHHHHHH… I… AM REBORN! AFTER DECADES OF IMPRISONMENT, I'M FINALLY FREED! NOW… I WILL DESTROY HUMANITY AND THE DEAD WILL RISE ONCE MORE! THE LIVING WILL BE CLEANSED AND ALL WORLDS WILL BOW TO ME!'**

He let out laugh, sending dread and despair to those who have heard him.


	19. The Final Fight

Sora, Kairi and the others stared up in horror as Vagnar the Lich laughed and declared his evil intention of world domination. The cold wind became more bitter as more snowflakes descended from the grey sky. The sun was truly hidden by the churning snow clouds, showering down frozen droplets of water. Any vegetation that managed to grow in the Horned King's former domain was buried under the thick blanket of snow. No life ever grows if there was a lich nearby.

Vagnar laughed again as he raised his staff, dark ancient chanting escaping from his skinless jaws. The ancient black staff glowed in brilliant blue, sending out a powerful aura.

 **'** **ARISE MY ARMY OF THE DEAD!'** Vagnar's voice echoed across the land. **'OUR TIME HAS COME! BRING ONLY DEATH AND MISERY IN YOUR WAKE!'**

The earth rumbled violently and the blanket of snow split opened, holes appearing on its smooth surface. Skeletal hands shot out from the snow before planting their bony palms onto the frozen ground, pulling the rest out into the open cold. Like the Horned King's Cauldron-Born, Vagnar's skeleton warriors wore the same tattered armour and wielded weapons of ancient past. The only difference was that pale blue flames burned in their dead sockets, showing the same trademark as their master.

The skeletons were not the only ones who heeded Vagnar's call. Ghostly figures floated from the frozen earth and hovered closed to Vagnar, like moths being drawn to a flame. They were barely visible in the white-snow blanket and grey sky. The only way of truly seeing them were the swaying of their transparent bodies that were shaped like tattered sheets, opened maws that showed nothing but emptiness, and their glowing blue eyes.

Eilonwy shivered from both the cold and the fear. 'Not them again!'

'Now he's summoning ghosts?' Donald groaned as he watched more of the ghostly figures and skeletons answering the call of the lich.

'Wraiths…' Krocken whispered. 'Not ghosts… Wraiths…'

Goofy looked at the blue dinosaur. 'What's the difference?'

Vagnar glanced at his unholy army, like a proud father laying eyes on his first-born. His ice-cold eyes finally fell on the party, his eye sockets narrowing unimaginably and the blue fire blazed brighter.

' **KEY-BLADE WIELDERS…'** his cold voice snarled as he referred to Sora and Kairi. ' **YOUR KIND HAVE IMPRISONED ME FOR DECADES! I HAVE YEARNED FOR VENGEANCE DURING MY LONG IMPRISONMENT! YOUR KIN MAY HAVE STOPPED ME IN AGES PAST BUT THIS TIME, I… AM… PREPARED! MINIONS, KILL THEM AND BRING ME THEIR HEADS!'**

The skeleton warriors snarled with their white teeth chattering and the wraiths howled loudly as the closed in on the party, weapons raised and transparent claws reached out. As the Undead surrounded the party, the party organised themselves in battle formation. Sora, Kairi, Donal, Goofy and Krocken formed a protective circle around Taran, Eilonwy, Gurgi and Fflewddur: weapons in their hands.

The skeleton warrior to approach them got its head knocked off, its white-boned body falling back into the snow as its brethren pushed forward. Katana in claws, Krocken sliced skeleton warriors into two: sending their heads into the snow or severing their spine from their waist. Donald jabbed his wand into air as he sent lightning bolts and fireballs at the incoming Undead while Goofy bashed his shield into the skeletons, sending bones flying in all directions.

With the skeleton warriors dealt with, all that was left were the wraiths whose howls can make the stoutest of men shivered as they flew in circles above the party: ready to dive in like vultures. Their key-blades glowing with holy Light, Sora and Kairi slashed or shot out arrows of Light at the approaching Wraiths. The Wraiths howled in agony as the Light sent them back to whatever afterlife they spawned from.

Taran, Eilonwy, Gurgi and Fflewddur hugged each other as waves after waves of Undead threw themselves on the party. Despite being outnumbered and the tides of skeleton and wraiths seemed endless, the party fought desperately and were holding out very well. They were about to continue on when Vagnar's voice roared loudly.

' **ENOUGH! YOU HAVE DAMAGED MY ARMY FOR TOO LONG! I WILL BURY ALL OF YOU IN ICE!'**

The ancient Lich brought his black staff up and pointed it towards the group. The blue crystal glowed brightly as it gathered more power, making icy wind swirled around it. Vagnar laughed as he unleashed the full might of his magic, an ice-blue beam shot out from the crystal and headed towards the party. Sora, Donald and Kairi raised their weapons as the blue and white beam slammed into them.

What sounded like an avalanche slamming into ground echoed in all directions and powder of snow fluttered into the air. The ice fog settled down, revealing a giant dome made out of ice. It stood where the Sora and the others were standing.

Vagnar lowered his staff and started chuckling, before throwing his skeletal head back in a laugh of triumph. At last, he had destroyed the key-blade wielders. Now there was no one who can stop him. He cut his laughter as new skeletons and wraiths burst from the snow-covered grounds, replacing the ones that were lost.

' **AT LONG LAST… THE CURSED KEY-BLADE WIELDERS WILL TROUBLE ME NO MORE! NOW MY CHILDREN… NOW OUR TIME HAS COME! SWEEP THIS LAND OFF THE LIVING AND LEAVE A WAKE OF DESTRUCTION IN YOUR PATH!'**

The skeletons and wraiths roared and howled at their creator's orders. Slowly, the skeleton warriors trudged through the snow and the wraiths hovered above the snow: heading in all directions. Vagnar's laughter boomed for all of Prydain to hear as his undead army do his bidding.

* * *

Kairi's eyes were closed when Vagnar's magic hit them and when she shouted out a spell: protectga. Now she opened her eyes and was both surprised and horrified. The former was because she was still alive despite getting hit by Vagnar's spell. The latter was because she found herself encased in a massive ice dome. To her relief, Sora and her friends were all right. They too had the same reactions as Kairi as they took in their new surrounding and situation.

'What happened?' Donald asked. 'The last thing I knew was that thing blasting us with his spell and everything went white… Quack!' Only now he saw the ice walls surrounding him.

'Bbrrrrrr… It's sure is cold!' Eilonwy gasped, shivering. Taran wrapped his arms around her from behind in a hug while Gurgi jumped into Eilonwy's hands, keeping her warm.

'It was a good thing that all of us thought of the same spell at the same time.' Sora said, smiling at Kairi. 'Great minds do think alike.'

Kairi smiled back before becoming serious. 'Now what? We're trapped in an ice dome with a lich loose.'

'He is going to destroy all of Prydain.' Taran said, looking for a way out of the dome.

'And the entire universe too!' Goofy added.

'Not on my watch!' Sora said with such bravado. 'First thing first, we're going to get out from this dome and fight this Vagnar! We're going to defeat him or send him back to…'

'It's all hopeless.'

Surprised, everybody turned to Krocken who was crouched down into the snow. Kairi was shocked to see the sarcastic and strong-minded blue dinosaur so dejected.

'Krocken, what are you trying to say?'

Krocken slowly turned his head to Kairi. 'I'm not speaking in riddles here, Kairi. Vagnar is unstoppable. Nothing can stop him now. Our best hope was that Vagnar will remained imprison as we rescue Sora and gathered the Crystals of Hearts. But now that he is released, there is nothing that we cannot do.'

While listening to Krocken, Gurgi bowed his head. 'It's all Gurgi's fault. Gurgi's sorry.'

'This is not your fault Gurgi and this isn't anyone fault!' Kairi defended Gurgi fiercely as Eilonwy comforted the woodland creature with a hug. Kairi turned back to Krocken. 'How can you give up so easily? There must be a way to stop Vagnar! Yens told us that a key-blade master stopped him and imprisoned him a long time ago! What do I look like? A red cabbage?'

'And you have two key-blade masters here!' Sora joined in, stepping next to Kairi. 'Kairi and I can stop Vagnar even if it cost us our life!'

Krocken shook his head. 'It's not that simple. Although you two are strong and brave but you don't have the knowledge to seal or destroy Vagnar. The key-blade master who imprison Vagnar long time ago used a complex spell that had been lost for eons. Even Yensid and Merlin cannot remember the spell. Without that spell, it's hopeless.'

Fflewddur's shoulders dropped. 'So that means… We're all doomed.'

Silence filled the ice dome as Krocken's words of doom struck all of them. The only sounds that can be heard were the howling of the icy winds and wraiths, the growls and clanking coming from the skeletons and the evil laughter of Vagnar himself. Eilonwy buried her face into Taran's chest, sobbing quietly. Taran looked at everyone's faces, hoping for somebody to come up with a solution. All he found was defeat.

Kairi looked around the dome, tears brimming in her eyes but refusing to shed them. There must be something, anything, to stop Vagnar. She turned to Sora whose optimism always cheer her up. Her heart sunk when she saw the hopeless look in his blue eyes and his shoulders sagging, as if all life have been drained from him. Everybody was downcast at their current situation.

Goofy's ears drooped. 'Gosh… That means our adventures of finding the Crystals of Hearts was for nothing.'

Kairi's head suddenly head whipped at Goofy. 'Goofy! You're a genius!' Everybody looked up at Kairi who turned back to Krocken. 'Krocken, Yensid told us that the Crystals of Heart contained the essences of every Princess of Heart. Can we not used the Crystals to defeat Vagnar?'

Krocken frowned at Kairi. 'I… Well…' then his eyes lit up with hope. 'Hang on!'

He pulled out the Safe of Many and unlock it. Carefully, he took out every Crystals of Heart that they had gathered in their adventures. When all six of them were placed in the snow, Krocken dug deeper into the safe. With a relieved grunt, he pulled out a tome with brown covers and golden linings. Ancient runes were unscripted on the front cover.

Krocken, acting beyond his character, excitedly turn pages after pages before slamming his paw onto one of them. 'Yes! Yes! We may have a chance after all!'

Everybody gathered around the blue dinosaur. On the page he stopped at were paragraphs made out of an ancient language that nobody understood. In between two paragraphs was a drawing of what looked like seven shining stones surrounding a hooded figure with a skeletal face. The seven shining stones looked like the seven Crystals of Heart and the hooded figure must represent Vagnar.

'Long time ago.' Krocken explained. 'The key-blade wielder who created the Crystals of Heart also created a spell that act as a contingency plan in case of Vagnar's return. Using the seven Crystals of Heart, this spell may destroy or imprison Vagnar once and for all.'

'May?' Sora asked skeptically. 'This spell will work right?'

'I don't know…' Krocken admitted. 'This spell was invented after Vagnar's imprisonment and have been untested. So no one know whether this spell is a success or not.'

'Are you suggesting we used an untried spell and hope it will defeat Vagnar?' Donald quacked, earning him a glare from the blue dinosaur.

'Yes. Unless you have a better suggestion, this spell is the only way of stopping Vagnar.'

Donald quickly bowed his head in acceptance. Sora, on the other hand, pointed at the six Crystals of Heart lying in the snow.

'Hang on! We need seven but I only see six here. We're missing one short.'

'Opps!' Kairi said suddenly and dug into her side-pocket. She pulled out her own Crystal of Heart, glowing out red light. She placed the Paupu-shaped crystal together with the others. 'Sorry about that.'

'No harm done! A-hyuk!' Goofy smiled. 'Now we have all seven of the Crystal and we can use that spell now!'

'There's only one problem.'

Everybody turned to Krocken who looked surprisingly embarrassed. 'Truth be told, besides ice spells, I know nothing of any other type of magic. This spell have been lost for ages and I only managed to dig it up recently. I can read the incantation but I do not have the means to cast it. If only Merlin or Yensid were here than we won't have this problem.'

'My master, Dallben, is Prydain's greatest enchanter!' Taran offered. 'If we can find him, maybe he can cast the spell!'

Krocken was shaking his head. 'It's too late for them. Vagnar's army will have covered half of Prydain by the time we find Dallben. We need a wizard now.'

'Why are we making so much fuss?' Kairi asked. 'We do have a wizard.' She pointed at Donald. 'Donald Duck is Disney Castle's prized wizard and he was trained by Yensid. He had accompanied Sora on so many adventures whose magic you can rely on. Heck, if it weren't for Donald, Goofy and I wouldn't have made it so far. If anyone can cast that spell than Donald can!'

'Yeah!' Goofy agreed.

'Well said Kairi!' Sora smiled at his girlfriend.

Donald looked stunned. 'I… Well…' Then he regained his confidence after hearing his friends' faith in him. 'You're right! I can do this!' he stood before Krocken. 'Teach me the spell Krocken. Then we shall sent that giant skeleton back to where he belongs!'

Surprised at Donald's cooperation, Krocken gave him a rare smile. 'Thank you. Prydain and the entire universe will thank you! Right, here's the plan. Everybody, listen closely.'

Everybody leaned in as Krocken filled them in with the details. 'With me and Donald casting the spell, we will be exposed to any attacks. Goofy will stay behind to defend us while Sora and Kairi will keep Vagnar busy. Taran, take Eilonwy, Fflewddur and Gurgi out of here and…'

'No!' Eilonwy said suddenly, surprising everybody. 'I'm sick and tired of running away from trouble. Prydain is our land and we're not letting some skeleton freak take over it! We're staying here and fight! Right Taran?'

Taran looked at Eilonwy in surprise. 'R-right! You're right but…' he looked miserably at his hands. 'I'm no warrior or hero… Especially without that sword.'

'You don't need a sword to be a hero Taran!' Eilonwy urged Taran, tugging at his arm. 'Looked at Gurgi! He didn't need a stupid sword to be a hero did he?'

Taran looked at Eilonwy and at Gurgi. Seeing that Eilonwy was right, he nodded. 'You're right! We're going to stay and fight!'

'I hate to be the one to destroy your optimism.' Fflewddur coughed. 'But what can we do? We can't fight an army of skeletons and ghosts with only our bare hands.'

'Not necessarily, Fflewddur.' Krocken said as he dug into the Safe of Many. 'Since you're fixed on staying, I have something for all of you.'

Krocken pulled out a sword and shield. The silver blade of the sword shone with brilliant light with the tip razor sharp and hilt made of pure gold, shaped as a cross with a ruby fixed in the middle. The device on the shield was green dragon in a yellow circle, looking proudly and breathing out fire. Krocken gave the sword and shield to Taran.

'These weapons belong to a knight who slew a dragon that was terrorising his land.' Krocken said. 'The blade is as sharp as a dragon's claw and the shield as thick as dragon's scales. Taran, be a hero again. Not a hero seeking glory but a hero who protect their loved ones.'

Taran took the sword and nodded, admiring the sword and shield. He was given a second chance to prove himself and he will take it. Krocken next pulled out a bow. Made of ancient spruce and the bow string glowing, the bow was shaped like a wing with wooden feathers sticking out at the ends. Krocken gave it to Eilonwy.

'Your father did mentioned you are a keen archer and he wanted to give you your own bow when you come of age.' Krocken told her. 'This ancient bow belong to an elven marksman who hunted down monsters and demons. The arrows will always be nocked every time to pull the bowstring and it will never miss its mark. Consider this an early gift from me and your father.'

Eilonwy nodded her thanks as she took the bow from Krocken, stroking the smooth wood. Fflewddur looked surprised when Krocken pulled out a harp. Like the bow, it was made out from ancient wood and the string were golden. A wooden figure of a beautiful maiden was attached to the harp, her mouth opened in a song.

'This harp was crafted by the dryads from the deepest forest. Its' music heals your allies and inspired them in the fight! I'm not a musician but if I'm not mistaken, you have to play major key song for healing while a fast and aggressive song will increase your allies' strength.'

Awestruck, Fflewddur took the harp and plucked a few strings. He smiled. 'Oh my… This is definitely a fine replacement for my old one. I feel like singing a song!'

Krocken grimaced. 'Not right now thank you.'

Gurgi looked up at the blue dinosaur. 'What about Gurgi?'

'Ah…' Krocken said and pulled out a brown pouch. Nothing extraordinarily about it except for the golden ropes binding it. 'This may looked like an ordinary pouch but inside contains cleverly crafted bombs that will never run out. I have to confiscate these bad boys from a group of mischievous goblins. Use them well.'

Gurgi clapped his paws in delight as Krocken gave him the pouch. 'You can count on Gurgi!'

With everyone armed and knowing what they were supposed to do, Sora announced. 'All right people, this is it! We're going to take down Vagnar and locked him away so that he will never rise and trouble anyone again! Whose with me?'

He received a supportive roar, even from Krocken. The party's spirit rose as they now had a way to defeat Vagnar and saved the universe. Sora grinned as he turned to Kairi who was grinning back at him. She had Destiny Embrace pointing upwards while Bear Princess was lowered. 'Let's do this Sora! Together!'

Kingdom Key appeared in his hand and Sora crossed it against Destiny Embrace. 'Let's. Fighting alongside my girlfriend is going to be fun.'

Smiling at each other, they raised their key-blades in unison: pointing at the middle of the dome. They closed their eyes as the Light came to their aid. The two key-blade wielders glowed with holy radiance as their key-blades glowed brighter. The cold air within the dome suddenly became warm as the key-blades continued to glow. Then with a sudden blink, two arrows of Light shot from the tip of the key-blades and pierced through the dome.

The beams of light pierced through the thick ice and create a hole on the middle of the dome. Then without warning, the entire dome shattered into thousand of pieces as ice shards rained into the ground. The group was again greeted with the howling wind and the snarls of the undead army. They were not greeted by the army of the dead but by Vagnar himself who stared at them with his black voids in astonishment.

' **HOW… HOW DID YOU SURVIVE MY SPELL?'**

Sora smiled as he brought his key-blade into fighting stance. 'No ice is going to stop us! We're going to take you down once and for all! Right Kairi?'

'Right!' Kairi said as she readied Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess.

Vagnar looked at them, a snarl coming out from his skull. ' **ARROGANT HUMANS… I WILL CRUSH YOU IN A MOUNTAIN OF ICE!'**

The ancient Lich let out a howl that should shattered your very soul. The air around him became fierce as Vagnar glows in brilliant blue again, gathering his power. The wind became more fiercer and bitter at the beckoning of the Lich.

Sora and Kairi looked at him, ready to attack. Kairi turned to Sora.

'You know Sora, I think it be a good idea to bring out our big guns. Kai Jian!'

A red aura surrounded Kairi as the Dragon Armour covered her from head to toe. Her head was covered in the dragon-shaped helm, the two ruby eyes on the dragon shining brightly. As Kairi turned to Sora, Sora's attire has turned completely white and he was hovering above the ground. Floating behind him were two key-blades: his Kingdom Key and the Ultima Weapon. This is Sora's Master Form.

'I agree.' Sora smiled, glowing with white radiance. 'Kairi, I love you.'

Kairi smiled back and held Sora's hand for the briefest moment. 'I love you too. Let's get out from here alive.'

Then they leapt from the snow-covered ground, flying straight at Vagnar. Vagnar snarled and swung his iron staff at the incoming heroes. Sora and Kairi dodged the staff as they split up: Sora heading upwards and Kairi going down. Sora grabbed both his key-blades and pointed at Vagnar's face, shooting arrows of Light into his empty eye-sockets. The Lich howled and brought his skeletal arms to cover his face, blinded by the light.

Kairi flew down to the kneecaps of Vagnar and pulling the arm that held Bear Princess, brought the key-blade onto the Lich's knee. The strength of Bear Princess plussed the power of the Dragon Armour caused the knee to crack, sending Vagnar onto his broken knee. Vagnar's howls became louder as he covered his shattered kneecap with his hand, glowing with blue light. He uncovered his kneecap, not a single crack on it.

Vagnar growled in a guttural tone as he stomped his skeletal foot into the ground, sending snow flying everywhere and making the ground shook violently. Ice crept from his foot as it froze the snow-covered ground in a massive radius. When it reached a certain width, ice spikes sprouted from the ground that reached up to Vagnar's waist. Kairi had to dodge skilfully to avoid getting impaled by the frozen spears.

She was so focussed on dodging the ice spikes that she was not aware that Vagnar had his staff pointing at her. He uttered a spell and his staff glowed with blue light once again, shooting out a beam of ice. Vagnar's ice spell slammed into Kairi and sent her crashing against a spike, sending small ice shards and causing a snow dust to erupt. When the snow dust settled, Kairi was encased in ice.

Sora cried in horror and positioned himself to dive towards the frozen Kairi. He does not need to. The ice that trapped Kairi slowly cracked before bursting into thousands of ice shards. As the ice fell towards the ground, Kairi floated back into the air and unharmed: much to Sora's relief and to Vagnar's fury.

Kairi smirked at the Lich. 'You have to do better than that to stop us you bag of bones!'

Kairi flew higher and straight into the white skull of Vagnar, slamming both Destiny Embrace and Bear Princess into Vagnar's face in a cross position. The ancient Lich howled in agony as the two holy weapons slammed into him. He reeled his skeletal face towards Kairi and growled. He raised his staff which was radiating the same blue aura but before he could cast a spell, something slammed into the nape of his neck.

Vagnar stumbled forward, causing the earth to rumble at each step, and whirled at Sora who was pulling back the arm that held the Ultima Weapon. Sora grinned at him as he now pointed Kingdom Key right at Vagnar's face, a beam of Light coming out from the tip. The arrow of Light slammed in between Vagnar's eyes, making the Lich roared in pain. Kairi took this opportunity to fly just in front of Vagnar's skull and brought both her key-blades down on the spot where Sora's arrow of Light hit the Lich.

A massive crack appeared in between Vagnar's eye sockets as the ancient Lich screamed in agonising pain. His empty sockets blazed with blue flames as he flung both his arms outwards. A blue transparent shockwave emitted from him in all directions, sending Sora and Kairi flying backwards. Sora and Kairi managed to stop themselves from flying backwards any further. By the time they were back in control, they were quite far away from Vagnar.

With both his attackers at a distance, Vagnar used the time he needed to heal himself. He muttered a spell and the crack that appeared on his skull slowly sealed by itself. Soon, the crack disappeared. He chuckled darkly as Kairi and Sora flew closer to him.

' **IGNORANT RUNTS! YOU CANNOT STOP HIM! I'M IMMORTAL! YOUR RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!'**

Vagnar roared and swung and pointed his staff at the incoming key-blade wielders, ice spears materialising from thin air and flying towards Sora and Kairi. Sora and Kairi dodged the ice spears as they continued to make their way towards Vagnar, their key-blades on offensive positions. Vagnar saw that his ice spears had failed and brought his staff horizontally in time to block Sora and Kairi's attack. The black staff of the ancient Lich and the key-blades of the youngest key-blade masters crackled with sparks as they tried to push each other back and forth.

Vagnar broke the stalemate as he pushed Sora and Kairi away, making them spiralled backwards. They stopped themselves before resuming their attack, finding a weak spot in Vagnar's defences. The ancient Lich snarled as he swung his staff like a club and fired ice missiles as if he was trying to take down a pair of annoying flies. For their part, Sora and Kairi continued to shoot out arrows of Lights or slammed their key-blades at any bone they can reached for.

Standing within a protective circle of their friends, Krocken and Donald were busy with the spell that will stop Vagnar. Donald's brows were furrowed and a frown was on Krocken's reptilian face as he read the ancient incantations out loud and Donald repeated after him. Taran and the others were facing outwards with their weapons readied as the two magic-users continued with the spell. Slowly but surely, each Crystals of Heart glowed brightly and floated into the air: a magical circle forming around Donald and Krocken.

'It's working! We're doing it!' Donald quacked excitedly, his wand glowing in his hands.

'Keep it up!' Krocken grunted as he glanced up and down from the tome and at the floating crystals. 'We're almost there!'

The two of them continued to work on the spell, so focused on their tasks. Meanwhile, Sora managed to slash off one of Vagnar's fingers while Kairi launched a giant fireball against the Lich's ice beam. However, no matter how much damage they dealt on Vagnar, the Lich will always recovered from their attacks or send them flying away with shockwaves. After unleashing his ice beam on Kairi, he swung his staff towards Sora. Sora brought up both Kingdom Key and Ultima Weapon in a cross hold just in time to block the staff, sending him flying backwards. Before the ancient Lich can continued the attack, his eyes fell on Donald and Krocken.

' **PAH… YOUR PATHETIC MAGIC WON'T WORK ON…'** he stopped as he studied the spell they were working on more closely. **'WHAT ARE YOU…'** Then he realised what they were trying to do with the Crystals of Heart, going into a rage. ' **NO! I WILL SILENCE YOU!'**

Vagnar roared and pointed his black staff at the pair, unleashing a rain of ice spikes at their direction. Instead of turning Krocken and Donald into frozen hedgehogs, Kairi flew in between the ice missiles and the two spell-casters. Her movements were blurs as she swung both her key-blades, knocking the ice missiles harmlessly into the ground. With his attack failed, Vagnar roared his frustration as he gathered more power into his staff.

Before the ancient Lich could unleashed another attack, Sora flew high into the air before diving from above. He thrusted both his key-blades before him when he slammed on top of Vagnar's skull. Vagnar screamed in agony and moved his free hand, trying to catch Sora. Sora jumped off Vagnar's skull just before the skeletal fingers of the Lich could grab hold of him. Kairi too this opportunity to fire lightning bolts from Destiny Embrace, aiming straight at his face.

Vagnar growled as he had no choice but to raise his staff, a magical shield deflecting the lightning bolts. He roared as he beckoned his servants. ' **STOP THEM MY SOLDIERS! STOP THEM!'**

The skeleton warriors and wraiths who were marching forward slowly stopped, changing course. They snarled or howled as they moved towards Krocken and Donald at their master's bidding. Taran and the others braced themselves as the horde of the undead clashed onto their defensive circle.

Taran roared as he swung his sword, decapitating skeletons, while Goofy bashed his shield into any skeletons in his range: sending bones flying everywhere. Eilonwy nocked and released arrows after arrows, her magical bolts piercing through the skulls of skeletons or the transparent heart of the wraiths. Fflewddur hurriedly plucked notes from the magical harp that sent out red aura that boost strength to his friends or green aura to heal their wounds. Gurgi was making good use with the bombs Krocken gave him as he flung them in the faces of the skeletons, blinding them and leaving them for easy targets for either Taran or Goofy.

With their friends protecting them from the tides of the dead, Krocken and Donald continued working on the spell. By now, all Crystals of Heart were pulsing with their respective colours as they glowed brighter and brighter. Krocken looked at each crystals before turning to Donald.

'Donald! Raised your wand in the air! Now!'

Donald nodded and raised his wand. The seven Crystals of Heart shot out a beam of pure light and Donald's wand absorbed the power. The Crystals of Heart began to fade away as all their essence transferred into Donald's wand, making it glowed with the colours of a rainbow. The Crystals of Heart disappeared and Donald quacked in surprise as his wand pulled him towards Vagnar.

Donald's wand pulsed three times before firing a beam of pure energy, flying at the speed of light. The magical beam flew pass the Lich and exploded just behind him, sending out a firework of pure light. The light spread out vertically in all directions as it began to take shape. The light settled in and there stood a golden door with five key-holes in each corner: two at the bottom corner, another two at the upper corner and one at the top. In the middle of the door were three more key-holes.

Vagnar turned to look at the door and for the first time the party saw him, there was fear in his voice. ' **NO… NO…. NO! NOT MY PRISON!'**

'Sora! Kairi!' Krocken shouted through the din so he can be heard. 'Behind that door is Vagnar's prison! Unlock it and push him into it!'

'Loud and clear!' Kairi shouted. 'Sora, cover for me!'

'Gotcha!' Sora said and raised both key-blades over his head, slamming them down on Vagnar's skull.

The ancient Lich howled as both the damage and the light the key-blades were giving out blinded him, forcing him to take a step back. With Vagnar distracted, Kairi flew passed him and stopped before the first lock. She pointed Destiny Embrace at the key-lock and a thin beam of Light shot out from the key-blade and entered the key-hole. Kairi heard a click, indicating the key-hole was unlock. Kairi smiled before flying to the next key-hole.

Sora was still distracting the ancient Lich as Kairi hovered just in front of the second key-hole, doing the sam thing like she did to the first. After the second key-hole unlocked, Kairi made her way to the third one. Kairi had already unlocked four when Vagnar's staff flew above her head, almost taking out her head.

Kairi flew low and had t doubled her pace as ice missiles flew right behind her, impaling into the ground. At the sound of Vagnar's roar, Kairi knew the Lich was getting desperate. That thought made her grinned. However, with Vagnar hounding her with ice spells, she cannot get to the remaining locks. She dodged another ice spike as she turned to Sora.

'Tagged!' she shouted at him. 'I'll keep Vagnar busy!'

Sora grinned. 'Roger that!'

He flew behind Vagnar's head as Kairi shot two lightning bolts at Vagnar. Sora stopped at the keyhole above the door and pointed Kingdom Key at it. An arrow of Light entered the key-hole and a click was heard. Sora grinned as he lowered himself, hovering at the middle of the massive golden door and the three key-holes. Raising Kingdom Key and Ultima Weapon at two of the key-holes, Sora unlocked them. Then he moved Kingdom Key to the last key-hole but before he could unlock it, a voice stopped him.

' **STOPPED OR I''LL CRUSH YOUR BELOVED!'**

Sora stopped what he was doing and whirled around, his face froze in horror. Trapped within his skeletal hand was Kairi, unharmed but not for long. Kairi flailed her arms and tried to wiggle herself out, only for the ancient Lich to tighten his hold on Kairi.

'Kairi!' Sora cried out. 'You monster! Let her go!'

A sneer entered the Lich's lifeless voice. ' **AH… I KNEW THAT YOU RATHER DIED THEN SEE ANY HURT COME TO YOUR BELOVED… HERE IS THE DEAL… YOU STEP AWAY FROM THAT DOOR AND I WILL LET THE GIRL GO… ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS… STEP ASIDE…'**

An anguished Sora looked at Vagnar and at Kairi. 'Damn it…'

He cried out when Vagnar slightly tightened his hold on Kairi, making the redhead gasped loudly. ' **WELL… WHAT WILL IT BE? WILL YOU SACRIFICE THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE OR WILL YOU SAVE HER? CHOOSE NOW!'**

There was deadly silence between the ancient Lich and the key-blade master, only the cold winds and the clashes of steel below filling the void. Sora was trying to think of a way out of this. If he unlock the door behind him, Vagnar will kill Kairi. If he accept Vagnar's conditions, he will destroy Prydain and the entire universe. There was no doubt Vagnar will kill him, Kairi and his friends.

Sora was thinking of diving towards Vagnar's wrist to force him to release Kairi when the ancient Lich suddenly screeched as his skeletal hand that was holding Kairi exploded in bright light. Vagnar brought both his hands to cover his face as the light became brighter, melting the snowflakes and turning the cold winds warm. In the light, Kairi's voice can be heard.

'Coward!' her voice ringed loudly through the air. 'I'm no damsel in distress in need of rescue! I can take care of myself. If you think you can use me to just allow you to destroy our universe, you got it wrong mister! As one of the princesses of Heart and a key-blade wielder, I will stop you monster!'

The light dimmed away and revealed Kairi but her Dragon Armour has transformed. Her head was now bare with her long auburn hair loose and her armour was pale-red and smooth, with two small dragon-shaped spalders on her shoulders. Hanging from the bottom of her armour were linen cloths that flowed with the winds and covered her steel-plated legs and feet. There were two notable features of Kairi's transformation. Her key-blade was similar to Sora's Kingdom Key but made out of silver with a golden angel wings-shaped hilt, glowing in brilliant light. Another thing was a pair of angel wings attached to Kairi's back, keeping her in the air.

Kairi raised her new key-blade into the air where it glowed brighter at every second, gathering power. Vagnar, surprised at Kairi's release, snarled and pointed his staff at the redhead. The tip of the staff glowed with bright blue once again and shot out a powerful ice beam, flying towards Kairi. Instead of dodging the incoming attack, Kairi just hovered there and brought her key-blade down.

To the surprise of everyone watching, the key-blade sent out a vertical slash made out of pure light at the ice beam. When the slash collided with the ice beam, it separated the beam into half like a knife slicing through butter. The magical energy of Vagnar's ice beam turned into snow-flakes as the slash continued towards Vagnar. Surprised at this turn of event, Vagnar brought his staff horizontally to defend himself.

Vagnar's attempt to defend himself from Kairi's attack failed when the slash slammed into the ancient Lich's staff and severed it in two, slamming into Vagnar's skeletal chest. Vagnar screeched in agonising pain and stumbled backwards, dropping his black staff into the snow-covered ground. He clutched at his chest as the light burnt into him, causing his entire body to writhe violently and tossing his head sideway in agony.

' **H-HOW…'** he gasped painfully. **'I-IMPOSSIBLE…'**

As the ancient Lich roared and turned, Kairi lowered her arm and turned to the gaping Sora. 'Sora now! Unlock the door!'

Sora had to make effort to close his mouth and turned back to the last key-hole. He raised his Kingdom-Key to the key-hole and shot an arrow of light into it. At the sound of what sounded like something being unlock, Sora flew away from the door with Kairi. When they were safely away from the door, the massive door slowly opened with the doors swinging forward.

Inside the door was nothing but pure light, blinding any who were too close to it. When it was opened fully, it sent out rays of pure light: melting snowflakes and turning the air warm. To Sora and Kairi, they can feel the warm sensation of the Light. To Vagnar and his undead army, they felt only despair and a sense of doom. Then very slowly, the door began to suck in anything before it :the strong vacuums even sucking in the snow clouds.

Sora and Kairi thought that they needed to fly further away from the door but soon learnt that it had no effect on them or on their friends. It was those who were enemies to the Light that were affected. Both skeleton warriors and wraiths were picked up from the ground by the strong vacuum as they were sucked into the door. As his minions were being pulled into the Light, Vagnar tried to fight it: slamming his skeletal feet into the snow and trying to put as much distance away from the door.

' **NO… NO!'** he screamed as the vacuum was slowly pulling him back to his prison. **'I WILL NOT GO BACK IN THERE! I WON'T GO BACK IN THERE! I'M VAGNAR! MASTER OF LICH AND OF THE DEAD! I WILL NOT BE STOPPED LIKE THIS!'**

He thrusted his skeletal hands forward, as if it will help pull him away from the door. He howled and clawed at the air as the vacuum became stronger. His desperate clawing did prevented him from being suck into the door, his clawing becoming more wild and desperate.

Sora and Kairi lowered before the ancient Lich, hovering just right in front of him. Sora took a good look at Kairi's new look and whistled.

'Didn't know you can do that Kairi.' he grinned. 'First the dragon thing and now this. How did you do it?'

Kairi shrugged, surprised at her transformation as Sora was. 'I must have brought out my inner strength. Is it a bit too much?'

Sora shook his head. 'You're like an angel or a goddess in my dreams. You never fail to amaze.' He then turned back to the screaming ancient lich. 'Shall we finish this?'

Kairi nodded, determination written on her face. 'Together.'

Sora and Kairi faced towards the writhing Vagnar. They raised their key-blades at the ancient lich and the legendary weapons began to glowed with pure light. Once the key-blades had gathered enough power, two arrows of Light shot out from the tips of the key-blades and fired towards Vagnar. The two arrows slammed into Vagnar's chest, pushing the ancient Lich towards the door and making him screamed in pain.

' **GGGAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!'** his howl echoed throughout the land. He turned his blue-flames eyes to the two key-blade masters who were still unleashing the Light on him. ' **PLLEEAASSE… DO NOT SEND ME BACK THERE… I CAN GRANT YOU POWER… WEALTH… STRENGTH… IMMORTALITY… YOU CAN BE RULERS OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE… PLEASE… DON'T SEND ME BACK IN THERE…'**

Sora and Kairi continued to send out their arrows of Light, not tempted by Vagnar's offer. 'And betray the people we're protecting? Never monster! We will never side with someone evil like you!'

'Your evil presence will be wiped off the universe!' Kairi added. 'Return to your prison and never come back here again!'

With that said, Kairi and Sora put more effort in their attack. The arrows of Light became bigger and pushed Vagnar into the door. As the massive golden door slowly closed, they can hear Vagnar's howls of despair.

 **'** **NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!'**

His screams was cut short when the massive door slammed shut, the slam echoing far and wide. The seven key-holes that Sora and Kairi unlocked made loud clicking sounds, indicating that it was locked. When it prisoner was safely behind its door, the golden door started to fade away, sending golden sparks into the air.

As the door faded, the snow started to melt and the icy wind died down. The skies that were covered with grey clouds parted, allowing the sun to shine it rays onto the frozen earth. The earth became soggy from the melted snow and the air became warmer, even some flowers were sprouting out from the ground. Any remaining skeleton warriors or wraiths that had not been sucked into the door crumpled or faded away, leaving no trace of death. Soon the massive door disappeared.

Vagnar, the most powerful and evil lich in the entire universe, was no more: locked away in the prison he was sealed in eons ago.

The Light slowly dimmed away as Sora and Kairi lowered their key-blades, big smiles on their faces. With the threat gone, Kairi flew into Sora: embracing him tightly. Sora gasped from Kairi's spear as he stopped himself from falling downwards, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's waist.

'We did it!' Kairi squealed, embracing Sora tightly. 'We finally did it!'

'Yeah!' Sora said as his face was slowly turning red. 'Erm… Kairi, not to be a party-pooper but do you mind easing on the hug? You're killing me with love here.'

Kairi grinned as she slightly squeezed Sora, making him gasped. 'Oh what's wrong Sora? Can't handle the new me?'

Sora gasped for air as Kairi's hug was squeezing the air out from him. He was saved when they heard Krocken's voice from below.

'Hey you two love-birds! Come celebrate with us!'

Sora breath in deeply when Kairi let him go, looking down at their friends who were waiting for them. Kairi grinned and held Sora's hand, pulling him towards the earth and taking Sora by surprise: normally it would be him in the lead. As they floated towards the earth, Kairi gave him an apologetic smile.

'Sorry about that bearhug just now. I was just happy to see you again.'

Sora grinned. 'No problem. I admit, those new muscles looked good on you.'

Kairi giggled as they touched the ground, immediately being swarmed by their friends. As soon as their feet touched the thawed earth, they returned back to their form: Sora's outfit have turned back to black and Kairi's wings and armour faded away. Sora and Kairi gasped as everybody entered a group hug, even Krocken.

'We did it!' Donald cried happily, his arms wrapped around Sora's legs.

'A-hyuk! I knew we can do it!' Goofy added.

'Guys, enough with the hugging!' Sora cried out despite trying to hug back.

Everybody laughed, happy that Vagnar was no more. Kairi smiled at Krocken. 'You know, this is the first time I seen you this happy.'

Krocken gave her a reptilian smile. 'Why not? We just defeated the most powerful being in the entire universe. Isn't that something to be happy about?'

'Can't argue with that.' Kairi smiled.

Eilonwy was the first one to break away from the hug. 'Is Vagnar truly gone now?'

Krocken pulled away from the hug as he turned to the princess. 'Yes. Vagnar has returned to his prison and will never trouble anyone ever again. All we need to do is to get rid of his staff.'

The blue dinosaur pointed to two black iron rods that laid on the ground. It was the black iron staff of Vagnar, severed in two and its powers diminished.

'We don't want someone to built another Black Cauldron do we now?' Krocken remarked.

Gurgi leaped onto one of the staff and jumped on it. 'Maybe Gurgi can pushed nasty stick back into the earth.'

Krocken chuckled, genuinely happy. 'I'm afraid not Gurgi. This requires some sophisticated spell. Let's see here…' He pulled out the tome that contained the spell to banish Vagnar, flipping through the pages. 'Ah, this one should do the trick. Donald, if you please.'

The blue dinosaur lowered the tome so that Donald can looked into it. It took the mage only a few minutes to study the spell before walking towards the two staffs. He raised his staff into the air and muttered the incantation. At his chanting, his staff glowed bright white and two white beams flew towards the staffs. The beams hit the staffs, enveloping them in white light. Then slowly but surely, the two staffs shrunk. The two staffs were the sizes of chopsticks when it stopped glowing.

Donald lowered his staff as Krocken moved forward, standing over the small-sized staffs. He picked them up with his claws while pulling out the Safe of Many. He opened the safe and dropped the two staffs into it, locking the safe immediately. Krocken spoke as he stowed away the Safe of Many.

'There, now no one will be able to use the staff to free Vagnar and bring him back to our world.'

'What about the Crystals of Heart?' Kairi asked. 'Don't we need to create them again?'

Krocken shrugged. 'Those crystals were only created if something happened to their human counterparts but I don't think we should create them just yet. I will discuss it with Yensid and Merlin and we will see what to do.'

Krocken looked at every one of them before stopping at Kairi. 'Well done all of you. You have stopped an evil being from destroying the entire universe and saving millions of innocent life. Kairi, at first I thought you were just a damsel in distress in need of rescuing but after this adventure, I'm glad I'm proven wrong.'

Kairi grinned. 'Well we had you and your sarcastic tongue to help us along the way.' Then her grinned fell. 'Are you leaving us already?'

Krocken nodded, reluctantly. 'Well you know what they say, "No rest for the wicked". I need to check on Mickey, Riku and the others back at Disney Castle and I will make my report on Yensid. I will also check on the other worlds but any signs of Heartless and I suppose I will be keeping an eye on Maleficent.'

'Will we see you again?' Goofy asked.

Krocken shrugged. 'I doubt it… I will be quite busy with my duties and… I would like to spend some time discovering about myself as a person. Plus,' he grinned. 'Spending some time with you lot is enough to last me a century.'

Kairi laughed and steppe forward, hugging Krocken around his scaly neck. 'We will miss you… And your sarcasm. Take care of yourself okay?'

Taken by surprise by the hug, Krocken smiled and wrapped his small claws as best as he can around Kairi. 'And you take care too, and Sora. I'm glad you are together again.'

Kairi smiled and broke the hug, tears in her eyes as she stepped back. Krocken was then hugged by Donald and Goofy. Next he turned to Sora who told him.

'Thanks for taking care of Kairi for me. If you need any help, you know where to find us.'

Krocken bowed his head. 'I will keep that in mind. May the Light guide you.'

'And to you too.' Sora said as he and the blue dinosaur hugged.

Krocken then turned to Taran, Eilonwy, Gurgi and Fflewddur, hugging them in turn. After he and Gurgi hugged, Taran raised his sword and shield to the blue dinosaur.

'I suppose you want these back.' Taran said.

To his surprise, Krocken shook his head. 'No take them. After defending me and Donald from Vagnar's minions, you all are now heroes.'

Taran and Eilonwy beamed, excited that they were keeping such powerful weapons while Gurgi jumped up and down in joy. Fflewddur was smiling with his eyes closed as he hugged his new harp. Krocken smiled as he turned to the others.

'Thank you everyone. Not only for saving the universe but also making me feel human. We shall meet again! Farewell, my friends!'

With that, Krocken turned and bounded into the forest: disappearing into the tress. The party managed to catch one last glimpse at his tail before he out from sight, the trees rustling before staying still. Kairi wiped a tear away from her eyes as they waved their farewells at the already departed Krocken.

'He was a good fellow.' Goofy commented. 'Gosh we will miss him.'

'Yeah.' Kairi agreed, lowering her hand. Then she felt Sora's hand on her shoulder, comforting her. She smiled at him, holding his hand, as he smiled back.

'We will see him someday.' he said assuringly, giving her a slight squeeze.

Kairi nodded, squeezing his hand back.

Eilonwy smiled and turned to her friends. 'Come on everyone! Let's go back to my father's castle. I'm sure he will throw us a feast when he lent what we did today!'

'That's sound like a good idea!' Sora beamed.

'Mmmmm…' Goofy said, rubbing his stomach. 'It's been a while since we have anything to eat!'

Eilonwy smiled as she held Taran's hands. 'Maybe father maybe willing to wed us off when we come of age!'

Taran blushed red deep, making some of his friends giggled at his embarrassment. 'Eilonwy… I… Thank you…'

Eilonwy giggled when Fflewddur approached. 'Is there a position for a bard in your father's court?'

Eilonwy smiled. 'I'm sure father will be pleased to have you in court Fflewddur. You too Gurgi.' She lowered herself to ruffle Gurgi's head. 'You can live with us in the castle where you don't need to worry about food!'

'Oh goody!' Gurgi became more excited. 'What are we waiting for?'

He jumped up and down as the group headed to where Eilonwy's castle was, leaving the domain of the late Horned King with their arms on each other shoulders. As they disappeared into the forest, a small green sapling sprouted from the ground where the Horned King's castle last stood.

Soon, the barren wasteland will be full of life and hope.


	20. Epilogue

There was an air of celebration in Prydain's capital as it citizens celebrate the death of the Horned King and his master, Vagnar. When the heroes arrived with the great tidings, both nobles and commoners rejoiced. Their rejoicing increased further when Eilonwy's father, the king, declared two celebrations. One was for the defeat of the two powerful Lichs in the kingdom. The second one was to announce the marriage between Taran and Eilonwy when they come of age.

The streets of the city was filled with party-goers singing songs of praises to the heroes and filling themselves up with good food and wine. Each street glowed with bonfires with a roasted pig hanging just above the flames so that the people could help themselves with the crackling meat. Also provided were numerous kegs of wine which the people eagerly help themselves to.

Celebration in the castle was also as high as on the streets. Food of all kind filled the banquet tables and servants served expensive wines to the nobles. The nobles danced, laughed and heaped praises on the heroes who saved their lands. Their king sat on his throne, smiling as he oversaw the celebration.

The heroes were enjoying the party as well. Taran and Eilonwy were dancing across the hall, laughing and smiling at each other: only stopping to grab something to eat or receiving compliments from the nobles. Goofy, Donald and Goofy were stuffing their faces with as much food as they can get their hands on while the Bard Ffewddur tried to sing along with the other bards.

Only two heroes were not at the party.

Inside the bedchamber they were given to, Sora and Kairi were standing on the balcony with Sora hugging Kairi from behind. Smiles were on their faces as they looked at the starry skies, just enjoying each other company.

'I'm glad all that is over.' Sora started, his face in Kairi's hair.

Kairi nodded in agreement. 'Although I will miss all that adventure, I will admit that some peace and quiet will be nice.' She turned to face Sora. 'Now I know what it's like to be an adventurer.'

Sora chuckled. 'You'll get used to it. So now that you have been all over the universe, any place you have in mind for our honeymoon?'

Kairi blushed. 'My... You're a planner!'

Both of them laughed, their happiness radiating from both of them. The good mood still remained when they stopped laughing and continued their star-gazing. It was not long before Sora broke the silence.

'Want to continue where we last stop?'

Kairi smiled and turned to face him. 'I thought you never asked.'

Kairi moved forward and pressed her lips onto Sora's, kissing him deeply. Sora returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist. Kairi continued to kiss her boyfriend as she moved her arms around Sora's neck, hanging onto him like a drowned woman. Their kiss lasted for eternity before parting lips, panting softly and looking deeply into each other eyes.

'Thank you for saving me Kairi.' Sora whispered into Kairi's ears alone. 'You're my angel.'

Kairi grinned, moving closer to Sora's ears. 'That's sweet of you. Now time to earn my reward.'

The redhead giggled as she suddenly pulled Sora back into the bedchamber, making the boy yelped in surprise. The bedchamber was lavished with red tapestries lining against the walls and the stone floors covered by red carpets. The cabinet, desk and the bed were made from good wood from the forest, with the softest mattress and finest duvet to go with the bed.

Kairi giggled as she fall onto the bed, pulling Sora with her. Sora had to land onto his arms and knees so he does not flattened his girlfriend. When he was more stable, Sora grinned as he looked down at Kairi.

'Are you ready to make some fireworks with yours truly?'

Kairi smirked. 'Sorry tiger but I will be taking the lead.'

To Sora's second surprise, Kairi rolled him onto his back. He gasped as it was Kairi's turn to look down at him, smiling like a spider who was going for the kill. Kairi had Sora's arms pinned onto the bed by the sides and his legs bounded by her own, locking him in place.

'I have been for a long time for this and tonight, I'm going to enjoy this moment.'

Sora gulped as he glanced at Kairi's biceps. 'Did I mention how hard and strong your biceps are?'

Kairi's smirk widened. 'Wait till you see under my clothes.'

She giggled again before moving in, she and Sora making out into the night, oblivious to the outside world.


End file.
